Box Score BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Kelsey Carey and Casey Smith combined for 32 of Fairfield's 43 points as the Stags fought back from a double-digit deficit for the second-straight game to defeat Rider 43-40 at the Webster Bank Arena.
“I think there's no doubt the non-conference schedule helped these kids,” Head Coach Joe Frager said. “The more that we can put them in difficult situations and they have to respond to it, that's how you grow. The heart they showed in the second half was fantastic.”
“I think the fact that we are young we have to make up for it,” Kelsey Carey said. “We all love basketball we've all played before so we know what we got to do.”
With the game tied at 40 with just under four minutes to play, Carey got the biggest bucket for the Stags (7-11, 6-3 MAAC) finishing her 16-point performance.
Neither team would notch a field goal for the rest of the contest, giving the Broncs (5-14, 2-7 MAAC) the ball with 30 seconds to tick. Rider, who was held to just 13 second half points, would miss their shot attempt, and Felicia DaCruz corralled the rebound and sank the free throw to guarantee at least overtime.
Rider got the ball to their 3-point shooter but Emily Fazzini's attempt was well off the mark to give Fairfield their fifth win in their last six games.
It is also the sixth win of the season where the Stags trailed at some point in the final period.
The second half featured three ties and two lead changes as the Stags held Rider to 6-27 from the floor.
Fairfield fell into an early hole, after a 9-0 Rider run, capped off by a Lashay Banks layup which gave the visiting Broncs their largest lead of the stanza 21-11 at 5:49 remaining in the half.
Fairfield, who missed eight straight shots during the Rider run, found their shooting touch with Kelsey Carey leading the way. Carey had a game-high 10 points, five more than any other player during the frame, and exactly half of Fairfield's halftime points. Carey started her run with 5:23 left in the first half to cut the Fairfield deficit to 21-13. Carey would notch five straight points in a three minute span to inch the Stags closer.
A Kristine Miller layup would be the last field goal of the period with the Stags trailing 27-20.
Rider only made one more field goal than the Stags in the stanza, but found contribution from the free throw line. Coming into the game 11th in the MAAC with a 59 percent free throw shooting, the Broncs hit nine of their 11 free throws in the half.
The Stags cut off their fouls in the second frame, allowing only two free throw attempts for the Broncs.
Smith, finished with 16 points, the 12th game that she has tallied double figures. Smith scored 12 points in the second half, including the first six points for the Stags.
Smith and Carey would actually combine for the first 12 points in the stanza for Fairfield, with Samantha Cooper ending the duos run with a jumper to give the Stags their first lead of the second half with 10:23 remaining.
Cooper would finish with a career-high 12 boards, the highest number for any Stag player this season.
For the first time since December 2, 2004, the Stags failed to hit a 3-point basket, ending their streak of 310 consecutive games with an outside shot.
“They had to find a way to win today,” Coach Frager said. “They had to scrap, they had to be a little creative, and they had to manufacture.”
Fairfield, fresh off statistically their best defensive performance of the season will now travel to New Jersey for a meeting with Monmouth. Tipoff is Sunday at 2pm.
