EMMITSBURG, Md. (February 2, 2023) – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball found it difficult to get a rhythm Thursday night as the pestering Marist Red Foxes combined with a disparate number of first half fouls built a big enough lead to fend off a late Mount rally. Marist took the contest by a 65-54 final.   
 
The Mount dropped its third straight contest, falling to 8-13 (4-8 MAAC). Marist returns to the .500 mark overall and regains a winning conference record at 10-10 (6-5 MAAC).
 
Jessica Tomasetti led the Mount in points with 12 and six rebounds. Aryna Taylor paced a 21-point bench effort with 11, adding three steals and a pair of assists. Natalie Villaflor also crossed double figures with 10, tying Tomasetti's rebound total. McKenzie Matheny earned a career high in rebounds with eight, a team high. 
 
The Red Foxes received a double-double from leading scorer and rebounder Zaria Shazer with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Fouls were 15-4 against the Mount in the first half, and 27-11 for the game. This allowed Marist to make 33 trips to the line, three times what was awarded the Mountaineers. Minutes were impacted throughout as no Mount player was on the floor for over 30 minutes. Jo Raflo, fresh off a double-double, and Isabella Hunt were the duo most impacted by fouls, combining for 30 minutes of the team's 200.
 
Marist gained the upper hand at the tip, sneaking out to a 7-2 run. Michaela Harrison got the Mount within two at 8-6, but the Red Foxes held off the visitors to lead 19-12 by period's end. Isabella Hunt fought for four points and four rebounds, coming with a cost of two fouls. Matheny took advantage of the playing time with the last made bucket for the Mountaineers in the first.
 
Foul trouble began to plague the Mount in the second frame. With several starters at two fouls or more, the bench needed to step up. They did on the defensive end, limiting Marist's makes and allowing the team to stay in the game. The offense, however, could not put Mount over the hump, and the Red Foxes began to creep away once they got into the bonus. Free throws down the stretch helped Marist rebuild the lead up to seven by halftime.  
 
Natalie Villaflor got the second half off to a good start by scoring the first five points, culminating in an and-one. The run proved to be false hope as Marist wound up finishing off nine more points than the Mount, raising the lead to 16 points at 50-34 entering the last quarter.
 
Matheny and Villaflor worked to turn the tide in the fourth with two quick buckets. That sparked an 11-0 run, with Marist unable to answer. Carissa Dunham hit a big triple down the stretch, helping the Mount pull within five at the halfway point. Julia Bonilla's triple with 4:35 left gave the Red Foxes a much-needed basket and a sigh of relief.
 
The Mount continued to make efforts to come back, with Raflo cutting the contest to four at 55-51. But second chance points and a key turnover inside of a minute allowed the Red Foxes to hang on.
 
Mount St. Mary's makes the short trip up the Hudson River to Albany to challenge Siena Saturday (Feb. 4). Tip-off is 2 p.m. from the UHY Center on the Saints' campus.