Marist Defeats Temple Women's Basketball, 53-41 ::

Poughkeepsie, NY (AP) - Freshman Sarah Tift (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) recorded her first

collegiate double-double of 15 rebounds and 13 points to lead Marist (3-1) to a 53-41 come-from-behind

victory over Temple (0-2) this afternoon in the McCann Center.

The Owls couldn't sustain a 25-16 halftime edge as the Red Foxes outscored their guest, 37-16, in the

second half. After shooting just 28.6 percent from the field in the first half, Marist came back strong

following the break, connecting on 43.5 percent of their shots from the field and holding Temple to a mere

19.2 field goal percentage.

Marist regained the lead at the 7:45 minute mark in the second half as Tara Knight (Hartford, CT/Hartford

Public) netted a driving layup to put the Red and White up, 34-33. Tift then made two free throws before

Stacey Smalls pulled the Owls within one (36-35) with her jumper with 5:53 remaining in the game. Diesa

Seidel (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) then hit a jump shot for Marist, but Nicole Chaszar made it an even game

with her 3-point field goal at the 4:46 mark.

The Owls pulled ahead again as Chaszar made another trey, but the Red Foxes wouldn't give up as Tift put

back a missed free throw and Marie Fusci (Levittown, NY/Island Trees) hit a three-pointer from the right

side. Seidel then made two more jump shots, and Marist hit six of the their final 10 free throw attempts to

seal the victory.

Tift also registered two blocks and one steal to go along with her game-high double-double. Fusci finished

the night with 10 points, while Seidel recorded 11 rebounds and eight points for the Red Foxes. Temple was

paced by Smalls, with her team-best 11 points.

The Red Foxes are currently 3-1 overall, giving them their best start since the 1995-96 season, when Marist

began the year at 4-1, en route to a 14-17 overall mark and a berth to the Northeast Conference semifinals.