Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  – The second-seeded Fairfield University women's basketball team had their hopes of a 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Basketball Championship dashed as top-seeded Marist College won its seventh consecutive league crown with a 61-35 victory over the Stags this afternoon at the MassMutual Center.
 
Senior Desiree Pina had a nine points and six rebounds while junior Laura Vetra scored a season-high six points. Junior Katelyn Linney finished with five points, including a three-pointer, bringing her career total to 998. She also moves within two three-pointers from tying the program record for career three-pointer field goals made.
 
Senior Taryn Johnson and junior Brittany MacFarlane added five points apiece.
 
Johnson and Linney were named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team. Linney averaged 12.0 points with 10 assists during the tournament while Johnson averaged 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds.
 
Marist (25-7) shot 50 percent from the floor, netting 24 of its 48 shots for the game while Fairfield (24-8) shot 21.1 percent. It was the first time this season that the Stags failed to score 40 points in a game.
 
Marist jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start the game. Pina stopped the run with a three-pointer from NBA distance to pull the Stags within 9-5 at 16:10. The Red Foxes countered with an 8-2 run, which included back-to-back three pointers to open up a 17-7 lead.
 
A three-pointer by Linney cut it the Marist lead to single digits while Pina pulled Fairfield within 19-12 with a jumper at 8:19. The Red Foxes responded with a 7-2 run of their own to take a 26-14 advantage. Marist took a 30-18 lead into half time.
 
MacFarlane scored the first basket of the second half for the Stags but the Red Foxes netted six-straight to pull out to a 36-20 lead. MacFarlane's bucket was the Stags' only field goal for nearly 13 minutes as they went cold from the floor. Pina broke the drought at 6:43 with a jumper. Conversely, Marist did not seem to miss in the second half, shooting 55 percent.
 
Fairfield, which finished as the runner-up in the 2012 MAAC regular season standings, will receive an automatic berth to the WNIT. The 64-team field will be announced late Monday evening, March 12. The first round will kick off Wednesday, March 14.