Marist 68, Loyola, Md. 57

3/5/2006 4:38 PM

By JOHN WAWROW
AP Sports Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - There were no tears of sadness in Fifi Camara's eyes this time, only a wide smile and a T-shirt she wore that read: ``This is for you, mom.''

The Marist senior forward and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the year delivered on her promise Sunday to win the conference women's tournament title in honor of her mother, Aminata Traore, who died of cancer in August.

The Red Foxes did so with a 68-57 win over Loyola, Md., winning their second title in three years and erasing the memories of last season's championship game loss to Canisius.

``I got all this motivation from her,'' said Camara, a native of Conakry, Guinea, who saw her mom only once - last spring - in six years since coming to the United States to play basketball.

And it didn't matter to Camara that she played a secondary role in Sunday's victory, forced to miss most of the second half after picking up her fourth foul.

The Red Foxes' strong starting lineup and deep bench made the difference, quelling Loyola's final surge.

With Camara on the bench, Loyola erased a 26-point deficit, cutting the lead to 61-57 when Jackie Valderas hit a 16-footer with 1:55 remaining. The Greyhounds never came any closer, missing four shots and committing three turnovers on their final five possessions.

``I wasn't worried at all,'' Camara said. ``We've been saying all year long that our bench can do a good job. ... I was confident.''

Forward Meg Dahlman, named the tournament's MVP, scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds. Reserve guard Nikki Flores scored 14, Alisa Kresge added six assists and 10 rebounds and Camara finished with 10 points in 20 minutes.

The Red Foxes (23-6) set a school record for victories and clinched the program's second NCAA tournament berth.

Brittany Dunn scored a career-high 21 before fouling out for Loyola (20-10), snapping the Greyhounds' six-game winning streak, a stretch that included a 62-59 regular-season win against Marist last month.

The Greyhounds, who upset Canisius 76-66 on Saturday, were making their first tournament final appearance since 1998. Loyola dropped to 2-3 in MAAC championship games, its two titles coming in 1994 and '95.

``Can we make it a best-of-three next year?'' Loyola coach Joe Logan said with a wink, noting how well his team played down the stretch. ``I credit our kids for coming back. We were down by 25 ... and we fought and fought and fought and just kept coming back. We'll try to build on that for next year.''