BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team exhibited their best defensive stand of the season, holding the Canisius Golden Griffins to a .308 shooting percentage in a 56-52 victory to open up their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) slate. Samantha Cooper hauled in a career-high 19 rebounds in the victory, the most by any Stag in the last seven years. It was also the 23rd time in program history the Stags have won their first MAAC game.
 
The defense of the Stags (4-8, 1-0 MAAC) was able to help overcome an offense that would shoot .259 in the second half and .310 for the game. The stifling defense was at its best in the third quarter as they held the Griffs to a 1-for-12 showing in the third quarter which featured just five points, the fewest by any opponent in a quarter this season. That defensive effort spanned into the fourth quarter as the Griffs missed 11-straight shots.
 
The defense was needed as the Stags would misfire on 17-straight shots over the same stretch and went scoreless for nearly nine minutes.
 
The first half was completely different as the Stags showed their offensive potential, using a 13-0 run midway through the first quarter to grab their first lead of the game. The Stags would extend that advantage to 18-9 to end of the period. Macey Hollenshead bookended the run with a 3-pointer to begin and end the stretch.
 
The long ball would be a theme in the first half with the two teams combining for 12 3-pointers, seven of which were credited to the Stags. Fairfield shot 7-for-17 from behind the arc in the first half with Hollenshead, Cooper, and Erika Schlosser all hitting a pair.
 
Fairfield would end up hitting 10 3-pointers in the contest, reaching double figures in that statistic for the second time this season.
 
The defense also carried the run for the Stags, who held Canisius scoreless for nearly nine minutes, a stretch that spanned until the 7:33 mark of the second quarter when Maria Welch connected on a 3-pointer.
 
Cooper nearly recorded a double-double in the first half alone with 12 points and eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Her eight boards moved her into seventh place on the all-time list as she passed Baendu Lowenthal, who had 808 career rebounds.
 
The Griffs would shut down Cooper in the second half, as she did not record a point in the final 20 minutes.
 
Even with the absence of Cooper, the Stags were able to build another run as they started the third quarter on a 9-0 run. The other post player in Fairfield's rotation, Khadidiatou Diouf netted six of those points with Casey Foley accounting for the other three.
 
Those would be the only points for the Stags in the third quarter as the team missed their final 14 shots of the quarter, which accounted for a 7:49 scoring drought. However, the Stags did find success on the defensive end as the Griffs were also held scoreless for the final 4:25 of the period (0-for-8). Fairfield would take a 40-32 lead into the final quarter.
 
The Griffs' scoring drought reached seven minutes and 11-straight missed shots before Sara Kinriksdottir converted a lay-up at the 7:21 mark in the fourth.
 
Fairfield was able to end their own offensive woes with a Diouf lay-up and a Sam Kramer 3-pointer to give the Stags an 11-point lead, their largest up to that point. Those buckets snapped a 0-for-17 drought spanning the two quarters.
 
Foley's 3-pointer midway through the final quarter gave the Stags some breathing room and Kramer would hit six of her eight free throws down the stretch for the 56-52 victory.
 
Cooper's career-best 19 rebounds was the most since Stephanie Geehan pulled in 19 against Manhattan in 2010. Cooper would finish with her fifth double-double of the season tying Niagara's Victoria Rampado for the conference lead. For the game, Cooper netted 12 points all coming in the first half.
 
Diouf would collect the first double-double of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Casey Foley helped the defensive attack that forced 13 Canisius turnovers. Foley would swipe four steals, tying her career-high.
 
The Stags will return home to start the 2018 calendar year when they host Niagara on Tuesday, January 2 at 7pm.