Katelyn Linney scored a career-high 30 points and knocked down a school-record seven three-pointers as the Fairfield University women's basketball defeated visiting George Mason University 54-37 Monday night at Alumni Hall. The victory improves the Stags to 2-0 on the season, while the Patriots fall to 1-1.
Linney hit 10-12 from the field on the night, including 7-8 from behind the arc, and 3-4 from the free throw line. The seven three-pointers tied Holli Tapley's school-record, set during the 1999-2000 season. Linney is the seventh Fairfield player to reach 30 points in a game and the first since Stephanie Geehan scored 33 against George Mason last season. The 30 points is eighth on the Stags single-game scoring list.
The Stags defense provided the turning point in the game going into and out of the halftime break. For the second consecutive game, Fairfield did not allow an opposing player to reach double-digits.
Fairfield trailed 18-16 after Amber Easter hit a jumper in the paint with 3:20 to play in the first-half. The Stags out scored George Mason 8-2 over the final three minutes of the first-half, to take a 24-20 lead into the intermission. The Stags held Mason scoreless for the first 4:33 of the second-half, 0-8 from the field, and expanded the lead 33-20.
The second-half surge continued, as the Stags pushed their advantage to 18 points, 44-26 with 9:32 remaining in the game. Mason used the free throw line to put together a 6-0 run, as Easter (8:37) and Taleia Moton (7:27) went 4-4 from the line in the stretch. Brittany Poindexter scored a fast break basket 20 seconds later and Mason was within 12 points, 44-32.
Linney ended the Mason run with a 5-0 run of her own, knocking down a three-pointer with 6:33 remaining and hitting a runner in the paint with 5:44 to play to push the lead back to 17, 49-32.The Stags largest lead of the game came with 3:04 remaining when Linney found Taryn Johnson in the paint for a lay-in and a 54-32 edge. The Patriots scored the final five points of the game for the final margin.
Linney had three rebounds and an assist in the victory. She did not miss a shot in the second-half, shooting 6-6 overall and 4-4 from behind the arc, to score 18 of her points in the period.
Fairfield shot 43.8 percent from the field, with Linney hitting 83.3 percent from the floor and the rest of the team shooting 30.5 percent (11-36). Fairfield was good on 72.7 percent of its three point field goals and went 4-7 at the free throw line. The Stags handed out 12 assists, led by six from Desiree Pina, who also added five rebounds. Laura Vetra had a game-high seven rebounds to help Fairfield win the rebounding battle, 39-36.
George Mason shot 27.6 percent from the field for the game, hitting just 6-20 from the floor in the second-half. Poindexter was the team's leading scorer, with eight points, while Easter and Angelee LaTouche both had seven boards. Mason finished with a 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass, while recording nine steals.
Desiree Pina started the scoring 45 seconds into the game, knocking down a three-pointer, but George Mason rattled of six of the next nine points to take a 6-5 lead 5:22 into the contest. Fairfield would respond with six consecutive points, in a 2:12 span to build a 12-6 advantage with 12:05 to play in the first-half. The Patriots scored the next four points, closing to 12-10 with just over 10 minutes to play in the half. Linney pushed the lead back to five points, 15-10, with a three at the 8:22 mark.
George Mason continued its run to 10-3 with six unanswered points in a 60 second span to take a 16-15 lead, before a Linney free throw with 5:38 to play in the half knotted the score 16-16. Amber Easter put Mason up 18-16 just over two minute later, but the Stags defense would tighten at that point. Fairfield out scored George Mason 8-2 over the final three minutes of the first-half, to take a 24-20 lead into the intermission.
The Stags return to action on Friday, November 19 when they host Cornell University at Alumni Hall. The game, scheduled for 7 p.m., is the 1,000 varsity game in program history.
