FAIRFIELD, Conn. – In front of a near capacity crowd of over 2,200 loud and cheerful local elementary school kids, the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team fell in the final minute to the Saint Peter's Peacocks 68-65 at Alumni Hall. Three Stags reached double figures in the setback, highlighted by a 21-rebound performance by Khadidiatou Diouf but Saint Peter's Briyanah Robinson had the most memorable outing as she poured in a career-high 39 points as the Peacocks rallied in the second half.
 
The Stags (3-12, 0-4 MAAC) built one of their largest leads of the season with a 20-point advantage after Katie Armstrong swished in a jumper with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter to put the score at 52-32. However the Peacocks would score 36 points over the final 13 minutes for the comeback victory.
 
The Peacocks (6-10, 1-4 MAAC) would grab their first lead at the 3:26 mark of the final quarter after a Zoe Pero jumper completed a 29-13 run for the road team. Sam Kramer would hit two free throws to give the lead back to the Stags. Robinson would answer with her fifth 3-pointer of the game to put the Peacocks in front by two, but Lou Lopez-Senechal would respond with a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Stags a 65-64 lead with just over a minute to play.
 
Robinson would complete the best game of her career with the eventual game-winning lay-up with 12 seconds left while Fairfield missed their final shot in regulation.
 
Fairfield had actually controlled the game for the first 27 minutes in opening up that 20-point advantage. Diouf was the main figure on both sides of the ball as she finished with a career-high 21 rebounds, 16 of those coming in the first half. The 21 boards are the most by a Stag in nearly 36 years as Caroline Hodges was the last Fairfield player to reach that number on Valentine's Day in 1981.
 
Diouf had already recorded a double-double in the first half as she poured in 12 points to go along with her 21-rebounds.
 
Eden Nibbelink also aided in the offensive output of the first 20-minutes as she swished through a trio of 3-pointers, tying her career-high.
 
The main reason for the dominant first half performance was Fairfield's ability to control the basketball as they dished out 11 assists on just five turnovers. Those numbers changed in the second half as the Stags notched six helpers with 13 turnovers, seven of those in the fourth quarter.
 
Lopez-Senechal led the Stags with 16 points, her fourth game in double figures and also swiped a career-high four steals. Armstrong finished with 11 points and two blocks. Sam Kramer nearly reached double digits with nine points and a team-high four assists on no turnovers.
 
Fairfield will hit the road for the next three games, starting with their trip to Western New York which begins with a contest against Canisius on Friday night at 7pm.