NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Fairfield University women's basketball team got back on track with a 56-50 victory at Niagara University this evening in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action at the Gallagher Center.
 
Junior Brittany MacFarlane led Fairfield (19-7; 12-3 MAAC) with 14 points and nine rebounds, just missing a double-double. Senior Taryn Johnson added 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
 
Senior Desiree Pina posted nine points and dished out five assists. In addition, Pina made her 120th career start this evening, tying her with Schrene Isidora for the most starts in Fairfield program history. Pina also appeared in her 121st career game which places her second all-time on the Fairfield chart; Isidora owns the Stags record with 125 career games played.
 
After falling behind by four points in the early going, Fairfield went on a 13-2 run to overtake Niagara, 15-8, at the 8:53 mark. The Purple Eagles (10-17; 7-8 MAAC) countered with a 5-0 run to cut the gap to 15-13 but Katie Cizynski stopped the spurt with a lay-in at 5:05. MacFarlane followed with a three-pointer and then found Cizynski open for a lay-up at 3:21 to push the Stags lead to 22-13.
 
Sophomore Christelle Akon-Akech drained a jumper with two seconds left on the clock to send Fairfield into the break with a 24-13 lead. It is the tenth time this season in which the Stags held an opponent to under 20 points in the opening stanza and the third time they've held an opponent to 13 points.
 
Niagara chipped away at the Fairfield lead over the first six minutes of the second half, pulling within 32-23 on a jumper by Shy Britton at 13:50. The Stags returned their lead to double digits, 39-28, on a lay-up by MacFarlane at 10:43.
 
The Purple Eagles came back once again, pulling within 43-39 at 4:40 on a three-pointer by Ali Morris. Britton made it a two point game, 43-41, less than a minute later. A three-pointer by Alexys Vazquez stopped Niagara's 13-4 run with 3:22 left to play. Niagara continued to fight back, pulling within 53-50 on a three-pointer by Morris with 33 ticks left on the clock. The Stags hit crucial free throws down the stretch to hold the Purple Eagles off.
 
Fairfield shot 45.5 percent from the floor while Niagara shot 31.1 percent. The Purple Eagles had a 40-33 advantage in rebounds.
 
Fairfield finishes out its stay in Western New York on Sunday, February 19 when the Stags visit Canisius College at 2pm.