Marist women 'shocked' by exodus; team faces 'biggest challenge'

One by one, they came to Brian Giorgis.

"You're in shock with each one," the Marist College women's basketball coach said, after the school announced four Red Foxes, including all-league forward Madeline Blais, would be transferring following the spring semester.

The exodus places a program that has reached the NCAA tournament in 10 of the last 12 seasons in a precarious position, "beating the bushes" to fill out a roster that currently will have eight scholarship players and 10 total next season.

Commentary:Giorgis' approach not to blame for transfers

In Giorgis' charmed 13-season tenure, the coach said he has never faced a hurdle such as this, given only days remain in the late signing period for high school recruits.

"It's definitely the biggest challenge," he said. "But, we're embracing it. We can either feel bad for ourselves or we can embrace it and try to bring in people with the eight that we have."

The list of transfers includes sophomores Brittni Lai and Katharine Fogarty, and freshman Payton Birchmeier. Blais, Fogarty and Birchmeier, combined with redshirt senior Tori Jarosz, who ended her career earlier this month when she decided not to pursue a sixth year of NCAA eligibility, represents Marist's entire frontcourt rotation from this season. Lai was one of three players Giorgis previously identified as candidates to start at point guard next season.

Counting Jarosz and senior point guard Natalie Gomez-Martinez, Marist will head into the fall without 69 percent of its scoring, 71.2 percent of its rebounding and 69.4 percent of its assists from this season.

The announcement came two weeks after Marist's season ended with a home loss to Temple in the first round of the WNIT. The Red Foxes' string of 11 consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season titles and nine consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament were ended by Quinnipiac this season.

After the game, both Lai and Blais spoke enthusiastically about returning Marist to prominence.

"I'm excited to play next year and hopefully to get back to the NCAAs," Lai said. "I think it's going to take a lot of work, but I think we're all in for it."

"I can't sit and worry about what's happened," Giorgis said. "We've been working all week trying to get ahead of this and trying to find some people who can help keep our program where it's at."

Remaining players shocked

The coach said the quartet announced their intentions at different times over the last two weeks, and "they all had their reasons. … They wanted a different experience." He does not believe there was one incident that led to the exodus, or if one player's decision was related to another.

"It was just more of a shock after shock," he said. "Even the players remaining were shocked. … They're disappointed, but we understand that people may want different things. You have to respect that.

"We have to get going and find people that want the Marist experience and want to be here and want the Marist degree."

Giorgis said the pool of possibilities at this juncture in the season include junior college players, graduates with a year of eligibility left (who are allowed to transfer without sitting out a year for NCAA residency rules) and simply players who have yet to sign a National Letter of Intent. He noted teams can bring in players beyond the late signing period and offered the example of Kate Oliver, who joined Marist in June 2009.

Oliver is also the last player to transfer out of Marist's program, doing so in 2011, not including center Delaney Hollenbeck, who left the team due to medical reasons this past winter.

However, Giorgis said he doesn't intend on acting out of desperation, bringing in players who aren't a good fit for the team just to have extra bodies for 2015-16.

"We love what's coming in next year," Giorgis said. "We may be a little shorthanded for a year."

The incoming freshman class currently includes combo guard Jordyn Jossart, wing Maura Fitzpatrick and forward Morgan Bartner.

Two starters will return next season, junior wing Sydney Coffey — a Third Team All-MAAC pick this year and 2014 MAAC tournament Most Valuable player — and freshman guard Allie Clement. The list of returning scholarship players also includes junior guard Eileen Van Horn, freshman post Kendall Baab and sophomore wing Sydnie Rosales, who sat out this season and appeared in 10 games her freshman year due to injury.

Giorgis said Rosales has "really progressed," and will be ready next season.

Blais, a junior, is coming off a First-Team All-MAAC season in which she averaged career-highs in points (16.2) and rebounds (5.7), while knocking down 88 of her 195 3-point attempts (45.1 percent).

Lai started twice this season but averaged more minutes (21.8) than Gomez-Martinez (21.1) and played a starring role in Marist's loss to WNIT with two points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Mike Benischek: mbenisch@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4722, Twitter: @BenischekPJ