Marist's 32-2 run buries DePaul

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Marist winning streak is intact thanks to Rachele Fitz and Julianne Viani.

Fitz scored 23 points and Marist closed the game with a 32-2 run to beat DePaul 76-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday night.

Viani had 16 of her 18 points in the second half for seventh-seeded Marist (32-2), which has won 23 straight games. The Red Foxes last lost a game on Dec. 12, 2007.

Allie Quigley led DePaul with 15 points. Deirdre Naughton added 13.

"Being down 13 didn't look very good, but obviously Julianne shot us back into it, and Rachele just kept doing her thing that made her a MAAC player of the year," Marist coach Brian Giorgis said.

The 10th-seeded Blue Demons (20-12) were leading 55-44 midway through the second half when Marist took over.

DePaul, which was averaging 78.4 points a game this season, shot only 34.7 percent from the field. Marist, meanwhile, shot 46.7 percent, including 8-for-19 from 3-point range.

DePaul opened the second half with a 7-4 run to stretch the lead to 46-35 with 16:57 remaining.

"Marist was tougher, smarter and better than we were," said DePaul coach Doug Bruno. "I think the nation understands how good they are now."

Marist retook the lead on 4 straight 3-pointers Viani to make it 58-55 with 8:51 left.

"I was feeling pretty confident," Viani said. "I missed a couple in the first half. But I had to remember my team needed me. I was getting open looks."

The Blue Demons made only 1 basket during the last 7:24.