The Fairfield University women's basketball team captured its 2010-11 season opener on Friday night, defeating Quinnipiac 65-48 at Alumni Hall. The Stags (1-0) have now won four consecutive season openers under fourth-year head coach Joe Frager.
Senior Joelle Nawrocki paced the Stags effort with a career-high tying 15 points, and Laura Vetra, making her first collegiate point, added a career-best dozen points. The sophomore also had a game-high eight rebounds, to go along with two assist and two blocked shots. Taryn Johnson also finished in double digits, scoring 12 points, as well as equaling a career-high with five assist.
After both teams knocked down three pointers on their first possessions of the game, Quinnipiac (0-1) built a 9-6 lead 3:18 into the contest. Fairfield answered with back-to-back three pointers, from Nawrocki and Brittany MacFarlane, to take its first lead of the game, 12-9 with 13:59 to play in the first-half.
The Bobcats would close within two points, 16-14, on a Ellen Cannon jumper in the paint, with 9:17 to play in the half, but Katelyn Linney knocked down a three-pointer on the next possession to puts the lead back to five points, 19-14. That basket sparked a 12-0 run for Fairfield, which lasted 3:40, and gave the Stags a 14-point advantage, 28-14. Katie Cizynski scored her first collegiate points in the pain with 48 seconds remaining in the half, to give the Stags their largest lead, 32-16, before Jacki Mann scored the final three points of the half to get Quinnipiac within 13, 32-19 at the intermission.
The Bobcats twice closed within eight points in the second-half, for the final time with 13:05 to play, 41-33. Johnson put the Stags back ahead by double-digits with a lay-up with 12:06 to play. Neither team would score for nearly two minutes, until Nawrocki, knocked down a three-pointer, with 10:25 to play, to push the Stags advantage to 46-33.
Kari Goodchild cut the Bobcat deficit to 52-39 with 6:26 to play. Fairfield scored 10 of the next 11 points, capped by a conventional three-point play from Vetra, for a 62-40 edge with 2:37 to play in the game.
The Stags shot 46.6 percent (27-58) from the floor for the contest, including an impressive 14-27 (41.9%) in the second half. Fairfield connected on 8-15 from behind the arc, 6-9 in the opening stanza, while shooting only 3-10 from the free throw line. The Stags out rebounded the Bobcats 44-34 for the game, with all five Fairfield starters recording at least four rebounds. The Stags had 18 assists on their 27 made baskets, while committing just 13 turnovers.
Quinnipiac was led by the nine point effort of Brittany McQuain, who also recorded a team-best seven rebounds. Goodchild also finished with nine points for the Bobcats, who shot 34 percent (18-53) from the field, and only 10-22 from the free throw line. Quinnipiac had eight assists on 18 field goals, while committing 13 turnovers.
The Stags continue their four-game opening game homestand on Monday when they host George Mason. That game, set to tip-off at 7 p.m., will be played at Alumni Hall.
