FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sometimes the little things in a basketball game go unnoticed. But the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team has made it a goal to focus on all those aspects this season and that effort was on full display as the Stags defeated Manhattan 55-52 in a tightly contested game on Sunday.
 
At the forefront of that effort was senior Macey Hollenshead, who connected all five of her field goal attempts and hit the team's last three free throws to close out the victory. Hollenshead would tie her career-high with 14 points for the second time in her last three outings. Aside from her point scoring total, Hollenshead recorded a game-high three steals and had a few deflections on defense.
 
Her baskets seemed to come at important times as well. After Manhattan (8-14, 5-6 MAAC) cut a 13-point Fairfield (9-13, 6-5 MAAC) to one possession in the final minute of the first half, Hollenshead collected an offensive rebound and converted the put back to give the Stags a five point halftime lead. The senior would also extend the Fairfield lead to two possessions twice in the third quarter with a 3-pointer and a jumper three minutes apart.
 
Fairfield got off to a hot start on offense by shooting 57 percent in the first quarter and led by as much as 13 when a Samantha Cooper layup made the score 20-7. Included in that stretch was a 9-0 run to start the game, which featured five points by Cooper.
 
Manhattan would chip away at that lead for the remainder of the half and into the third quarter when a layup by Gabby Cajou with 48 seconds left tied the score for the first time in the contest.
 
Fairfield was able to fend off the Jaspers for the first 30 minutes courtesy of timely defensive stops. Khadidiatou Diouf was the inside presence for the Stags and had her best defensive game of the season. Diouf drew three charges, the most by a Stag in a game this season and held Manhattan's leading scorer Kayla Grimme to just 12 points, and kept her in foul trouble.
 
The Jaspers would take their first lead of the game when Courtney Warley hit the first field goal of the fourth quarter to make the score 44-42. That would start an exciting last period of basketball that featured two ties and four lead changes.
 
The lead change went the Stags way at the 5:19 mark when Sam Kramer hit a jumper to make the score 48-46. Although Kramer could not find her shot from beyond the arc (1-for-9 on 3-point attempts) she had much success driving to the basket. The sophomore would go 4-for-5 on shots inside the arc, mostly coming from jumpers.
 
The Jaspers would take their final lead of the game when Amani Tatum connected on a 3-pointer to give the visiting side a 49-48 lead with 2:30 remaining.
 
The Stags would answer by scoring four-straight points on layups from Diouf and Kramer, setting up a one possession game over the final stretch of the contest. After Cajou's layup inched the Jaspers closer at 52-51 with 28 seconds left, Manhattan would not hit another field goal as Tatum's 3-point attempt with eight seconds left was off the mark.
Cooper led the Stags with 19 points but was limited to a season-low three rebounds. To pick up Cooper, guards Casey Foley and Hollenshead combined for 13 of the team's 25 rebounds. Foley led the Stags in both rebounds with seven (including three offensive boards) and assists with seven. Fairfield would also limit their turnovers with only ten miscues, and held Tatum, the MAAC leader in steals to just one swipe.
 
Fairfield will look to build on this win when they travel to Iona on Thursday afternoon at 11am.