Behind a career-high 24 points from junior Desiree Pina (Plainville, Conn.) the Fairfield University women's basketball team won its 500^th game at the Division I level with a 64-50 win over St. Francis (NY) College at Alumni Hall on Sunday afternoon. The victory improves the Stags to 6-3 overall, while the Terriers fall to 1-7.

The Stags, in their 30^th season at the Division I level, now boast a 500-364 record.

Pina was joined in double figures by Taryn Johnson (Brockton, Mass.), who netted 13 points, and Katelyn Linney (Freehold, N.J.) who scored 12 points. Pina equaled a career-high with nine rebounds, a game-high, as well as handing out three assists.

Fairfield built a double-digit lead early in the first-half, 15-4 (13:04), and maintained at least that margin for the remainder of the game. The Stags shot 42.3 percent (22-52) from the field and were good four times from behind the arc. Fairfield had its best day from the free throw line as well, hitting 16-19 (83.3%), for the game. The Stags committed a season-low eight turnovers in the game.

St. Francis was led by the 12-point effort of Stefanie Bingham (Willingboro, N.J.), while Autumn Lau (Mt. Wolf, Pa.) and Ashley Wilcots (Virginia Beach, Va.) each scored 11 points. The Terriers shot 39.1 percent, 18-46, from the field for the game, hitting 4-14 from behind the arc and 10-15 from the free throw line.

The Terriers opened the second-half with an 8-5 run, to close a 16-point halftime deficit to 13 points, 44-31 (13:14). Pina knocked down a three-pointer on the Stags next possession and scored again after a Jacidna williams free throw, to push the advantage back to 49-32 (12:24). Fairfield would stretch its lead to 22 points (56-34), the largest of the game, on a three-pointer by Katelyn Linney (Freehold, N.J.) with 9:01 to play.

St. Francis did not go quietly however, out-scoring Fairfield 12-2 over the next 4:38 to get within a dozen points, 58-46. The Terriers shot 5-6 from the field during the stretch, while holding Fairfield to 1-5 shooting and forcing three Stag turnovers. Lau knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:56 to play to get St. Francis (NY) to within 10 points (60-50) but Johnson answerd with a basket of her own. After a long miss by the Terriers, Johnson pushed Fairfield's advantage to 14 points, 64-50, with an eight-footer with 47 seconds remaining to play.

Johnson had seven rebounds for the Stags, who out reobunded St. Francis 30-28 for the game. Fairfield finished the game with 10 steals and for the first time this year did not block a shot. St. Francis committed 14 turnovers, had three steals and one block. Fairfield handed out eight assists in the game, while the Terriers had five.

Pina tallied 18 of her points, which was already a single-game season-high, in the first-half. She knocked down her first three shots from the field. She had a hand in the Stags first nine points, with six points and an assist, as Fairfield built a 9-0 3:44 into the game. Pina continued to propel Fairfield, hitting 3-3 from the field, 5-5 from the line, pulling down five rebounds and handing out two assists in the first nine minutes of action as the Stags built a 23-4 lead.

The Terriers were just 2-12 from the field to open the game, but hit 8-15 in the final 10:18 of the first-half. St. Francis would close the 21-point deficiet to as few as 10 points, 26-16 (6:50) but could not get back within single-digits. Fairfield would out-score St. Francis 13-7 from that point until intermission to take a 29-23 lead into the locker room.

The Stags close out the home portion of their non-conference schedule on Wednesday, December 22, when they host the University of Albany at Alumni Hall. Game time is set for 7 p.m.