The Fairfield University women's basketball team dropped a 54-52 to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) front-runner Marist College on Sunday afternoon at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. The loss snaps a five-game conference win streak for the Stags, who fall to 15-8 on the season and 8-4 in conference action. The Red Foxes, winners of 17 straight, are 21-2 on the season and 12-0 in league play.

Marist led for just 51 seconds of action in the second-half, taking the lead for good with 28 seconds to play on a Corielle Yarde basket in the paint gave Marist a 54-52 lead. Brittany MacFarlane (Hamilton, Ontario), who scored a career-high 14 points, had a look from beyond the arc with 11 seconds to play that just missed and was corralled by Taryn Johnson (Brockton, Mass.). Johnson found Katelyn Linney (Freehold, N.J.) on the wing, but her three-pointer rimmed out to Brandy Gang who was immediately fouled. Gang missed the front-end of a 1-and-1, and MacFarlane corralled the rebound. After a timeout Johnson received the inbound pass at midcourt and her saw her heave go wide right.

Johnson had her second consecutive double-double, tallying 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. She also recorded a game-high four steals and four blocked shots. MacFarlane drained 3-6 from behind the arc to tally her 14 points. She also picked up nine rebounds for the Stags who outrebounded Marist 37-32 for the game.

Marist was led by the 18 points of Yarde, who shot 8-18 from the floor, and was one of three Red Foxes with two assists. Erica Allenspach also finished in double-figures, with 13 points, while Gang and Elise Caron both picked up a team-best six rebounds. Marist shot 38.2 percent from the field and was good on 2-14 from behind the arc. 

Fairfield built its largest lead of the game, 40-31, on back-to-back three-pointers from MacFarlane with13:55 to play in regulation. Marist struck for nine straight points in a 2:55 span to knot the score 40-40. Johnson snapped the run with an offensive rebound and put back for a 42-40 edge with 10:36 to play. On the Red Foxes ensuing possession she swiped the ball at the top of the key and went for the length of the court for a four-point advantage. 

Marist scored five of the next seven points to take the lead 47-46 with 5:20 to play, but the lead was short-lived.   MacFarlane put Fairfield back ahead 23 seconds later with a basket in the paint and after a Marist turnover Alexys Vazquez (Berlin, Conn.) hit a jumper for a three-point lead. Johnson put Fairfield ahead by five points, 52-47 with 3:26 to play, but the Stags would not score again as Marist scored the final seven points of the game.

The Stags were 4-7 from the line for the game, without a free throw chance in the second-half, while Marist, which hit 10-11 from the line, was 4-5 in the second-half. Fairfield shot 38.9 percent from the field for the game and was 6-20 from behind the arc. 

 

Marist took an early 6-3 lead as both teams combined to shoot just 3-13 from the field in the opening four minutes of action. MacFarlane got the Stags within one with her first basket 4:29 into the game, 6-5, the last points by either team for over four minutes. Linney broke the drought with the games first three-pointer just under nine minutes into the half, giving the Stags and 8-6 lead, their first of the game.

The Stags did not trail the remainder of the half and the game was tied 16-16 with 6:11 to play until intermission. Linney hit 1-2 from the line to break the tie and after a defensive stop MacFarlane knocked down a three-pointer to give the Stags a four-point edge, 20-16. After a Yarde basket in the paint cut that lead in half, Vazquez drained a three-pointer from the corner  to start a 10-4 half ending run for the Stags, sending Fairfield to the intermission with the largest lead of the game, 30-22.

The Stags are back in action at Rider, in Lawrenceville, N.J., on Saturday at 2 p.m.