Box Score
 
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University women's basketball team had its five-game winning streak snapped this afternoon, falling Rider University, 69-57, at Alumni Hall. Fairfield is now 6-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and 12-6 overall while Rider improves to 4-4 in the league and 9-10 overall.
 
Senior Katelyn Linney tied a season-high with 17 points, going 6-for-7 from the floor including four three-pointers for the Stags. Linney also tied a season-high with four assists in 40 minutes of action. Junior Katie Cizynski finished with 11 points and extended her double-digit scoring streak to 10 games.
 
Sophomore Felicia DaCruz tied a career-high with nine points while juniors Alexys Vazquez and Brittany Obi-Tabot added eight points apiece.
 
The Stags started the game with an 8-2 run but the Broncs countered with a 9-3 run to tie the game with just over 12 minutes to play. Rider took the 13-11 lead at 11:30 on a lay-up by Marritta Gillcrease while Mikal Johnson added two more points with a jumper at 10:26. The Stags tied the game 16-16 on a bucket by Linney and regained the lead on a basket by Cizynski at 8:10.
 
Rider went back on top, 25-24, at 4:47 on a three-pointer by Johnson. Senior Brittany MacFarlane returned the advantage to Fairfield at 3:10 by putting home a pass from Christelle Akon-Akech. The two teams continued to trade baskets but Rider went into the break with a 34-31 lead after a Carleigh Brown lay-in with two ticks left on the clock.
 
The start of the second half belonged to Rider as the Broncs opened up a 17-point lead, 53-36, by the 11:29 mark. Fairfield whittled away at the lead over the next seven minutes, cutting it to 60-52 on a DaCruz basket with 4:06 left to play. After trading three-pointers, Obi-Tabot pulled the Stags within 63-57 with just under two minutes to play. It's as close as Fairfield would get as Rider was able to hang on for the victory.
 
MacFarlane finished with seven rebounds while Akon-Akech had three rebounds and three assists. For Rider, MyNeshia McKenzie turned in a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, both game-highs. Johnson had 11 points while Caitlin Bopp added 10 points.
 
Rider's victory over the Stags was its first since February 23, 2009 and only the fourth in program history. Fairfield is 30-4 all-time against the Broncs.
 
Fairfield returns to action on February 1 when it travels to Saint Peter's University to meet the Peacocks for the first time this season. The Stags head back to Alumni Hall on February 3 to host Iona College at 2pm.