Lady Red Foxes.................We Salute You!

The Marist Lady Red Foxes lost to the Tennessee Vols 46-65 in the NCAA Womens sweet-16 competition. And I have nothing but love and praise for these Powerful Princesses from Poughkeepsie who played against what looked like a basketball giant. The Vols had size, speed and history (26 consecutive sweet sixteen appearances) on their side coming into this game. The Marist Red Foxes on the other hand brought heart and courage to the Dayton,Oh matchup and didn't lay down or back away from the challenge.

The Red Foxes got off to a bad start and were unable to catch up to the Vols. But again, showing no quit and settling into their style of play, the Red Foxes gave Pat Summitt and her "Titans from Tennessee" one heck of a fight and may have exposed a few weaknesses in the Giant's armor.

Had the Red Foxes been able to compete on the offensive rebounds, the outcome could have been much closer. Fortunately for the Vols, their height advantage made rebounding, shooting and passing, all things needed to win basketball games, a monumental uphill battle.

And so with the heart of a Lion and the will to continue thrusting their spears against a mighty sword wielding opponent, the Red Foxes went down in defeat. To compare Marist to Sparta's 300 in 480B.C. ; on this day of overwhelming battle odds the citizens of Poughkeepsie are as proud of their soldiers' heroic loss as any opposing force could be in victory. Thank you Red Foxes for giving us a season that legends are made of. We truly saw the sun blotted out by arrows and yet our Red Fox warriors continued fighting in the shade.

Marist Lady Red Foxes 2007A.D., We Salute You!

"The most valiant are sometimes the most unfortunate. Thus there are triumphant defeats that rival victories. Nor did those four sister victories, the fairest that the sun ever set eyes on - Salamis, Plataea, Mycale, and Sicily - ever dare match all their combined glory against the glory of the annihilation of King Leonidas and his men at the pass of Thermopylae." - Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)