LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – A 12-0 run was started by one transfer and highlighted by another. Margeaux Dupuy put together a 5-0 run that turned a two-point deficit to a three-point lead and Casey Smith made a highlight reel play to further the rally. That lead would be stretched as the Stags defeated the Broncs 59-47 for their third-straight win and avenged a MAAC Quartefinal loss last season.

“Anytime you get a road win in the MAAC it's a good thing,” Head Coach Joe Frager said.  “This is a tough place to play. They are a very physical team, they are very talented, I think their record is misleading. We kind of challenged them at halftime to up their energy on the offensive end of the floor.”

Robin Perkins, who had a game-high 17 points, gave the Broncs (3-13, 0-6 MAAC) a two-point lead with her first 3-point field goal of the afternoon at the 17:56 mark. The Stags defense would then hold the Broncs off the scoreboard for six minutes and took full advantage.

Dupuy tied the game with 17:27 minutes to go and hit her ninth 3-pointer of the season to put the Stags (5-10, 4-2 MAAC) out in front for good. That basket was the beginning of a 12-0 run that was the difference of the game.

“I think Margeaux gave us a real nice lift today,” Coach Frager said.  “We had a difficult defensive matchup with Perkins and her and Lizzy Ball did a nice job trying to contain her.  A nice spurt there triggered by her.”

The run was highlight by a circus shot by the other transfer for the Stags in Smith.  The basket gave Fairfield their largest lead of the day when Smith converted a 3-point play that was anything but traditional. Smith grabbed the ball under the hoop and took a no look behind the back layup and was fouled on the attempt to give Fairfield a six point lead.

“That was an amazing shot by Smitty,” Coach Frager said.  “We called for a back screen and the reverse layup.  I don't think she saw the rim but I've seen her make that shot numerous times.”

Smith had all of her nine points in the second period.

Still holding the Broncs scoreless in the run, the Stags scored 19 points in a nine minute span with Schatzlein tallying nine points in that span.

Fairfield led by as many as 14 during the stretch, their largest lead of the season.

The game was played closely for the first 23 minutes with eight ties and nine lead changes. The Broncs held the lead twice in the second half with Emily Fazzini, scdring the first basket of the second stanza and then the 3-point shot by Perkins.

Both teams played a tightly contested first half that featured seven of those ties and five lead changes with no team leading by more than four points.  

The Stags got the upper hand in the battle on several occasions, led by Kelsey Carey.  The sophomore broke a 7-7 tie with a jumper at the 15:09 mark to give the Stags their first lead of the game. Carey was also the focal point of the other lead change when she sunk one of her three foul shots in the stanza, to give Fairfield a 19-18 advantage.

Carey finished the half with a game-high nine points.

Kristin Schatzlein also regained the Stags lead a couple of times with two layups. Fairfield had 10 of the first 12 points in the paint in the game.

Rider would tie the game several times with Perkins being the highlight of their offense. The transfer from Saint Francis (Pa.) connected on her first four shots and scored nine of the first 11 points for the Broncs. She tied the game on a couple of occasions with the last occurrence happening at the 13:07 mark.

The Broncs took their last lead of the opening period at the 6:21 mark when Kamila Hoskova connected on her only field goal of the first 20 minutes to give Rider a 20-19 lead.

The Stags would hold Rider off the scoreboard for four and took advantage, A layup by Kristine Miller less than 20 seconds later, put Fairfield back on top, the fifth lead change of the stanza. Schatzlein gave the Stags a little breathing room when she released a shot just inside the 3-point arc for a three point advantage at the 5:08 mark. That would be the last field goal for the Stags in the first half as they went on a five minute scoring drought.

The Rider drought ended when last year's MAAC Quarterfinals hero Stephanie Mason banked a layup to put the Rider deficit at one at 23-22. That would be the score as the two teams went into the locker room as Felicia DaCruz's final shot did not beat the buzzer.

It was the fifth straight game that the Stags did not trail at halftime.

DaCruz had her best game as a point guard of the season with seven assists and committing just one turnover. Five players scored at least seven points led by Schatzlein with 16, and Carey with 13. Schatzlein also shot 7-11 in the game.

It is the third straight win for the Stags who avenged their loss against the Broncs from a Quarterfinal loss last season.  Coincidently it is also the third-straight game that the Stags have out-rebounded their opponent. It is also the eighth time in the last nine games the Stags have had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio with 18 dishes and 13 miscues.

After a busy week that featured four games in seven days, the Stags will not play until Thursday when they travel to league leader Quinnipiac on Thursday at 5pm. That game will be streamed on ESPN3.

“Hopefully they know they can gut through a tough period of time,” Frager said.  “To do it when you're not 100 percent physically and grind out three wins out of it. Hopefully it will be a growing time for us.”