FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team withstood a late surge by Siena that saw the Saints connect on seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, by converting 13 of their 16 free throws in the final period to hang on to a 59-55 victory at the George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall. The win was Fairfield's second-straight and their first of the win at Alumni Hall.
 
"It's a really good win for us," Head Coach Joe Frager said. "Coming into the season they were picked to finish high in the league and so far they are. It's also huge for us to get a win under our belt here at home and to try and start treating this more like our comfort zone. We're learning, we're growing but I think we're going to make a lot of games interesting this year."
 
Before Siena's 24-point fourth quarter, the story for the Stags was their defense that held the Saints to 31 points through the first 30 minutes of the game and shoot 32 percent from the field during that span.
 
That same defensive intensity that started in their last game at Iona was shown especially during the first half where the Stags surrendered just 17 points. It was the second-straight game where Fairfield's opponent failed to reach 20 points during the first half.
 
With Fairfield's defense forcing 12 turnovers during the first half, the Fairfield offense took advantage as the Stags shot 58 percent during that stretch.
 
Fairfield never trailed in the game after scoring the first seven points of the game. Khadidiatou Diouf scored the final four points of the game's first run after Katie Armstrong got the Stags on the board with a 3-point field goal.
 
Siena was able to fight back to get within one point on two different occasions in the second quarter but would not be able to tie the game. A layup from Diouf and a jumper by Armstrong extended the Fairfield advantage to five midway through the second quarter. The Stags would take an 11-point lead into the halftime break by scoring the final seven points of the half, capped by a Lou Lopez-Senechal 3-pointer.
 
The Stags would grab their largest lead of the night at 14 points when Diouf's layup put the score at 50-36 with 3:28 left. That's when Siena would make their final run by connecting on five-straight 3-point attempts that saw that 14-point lead evaporate to just two at 54-52 with 24 seconds left.
 
The Stags had led by eight with 45 seconds left in the game. Luckily for the Stags, the sixth long range shot for Siena in that stretch was off the mark that would have tied the game. Casey Foley would make her final four free throw attempts to seal the win.
 
Diouf led a trio of Stags with 15 points while Armstrong finished with 13 and Lopez-Senechal collecting 12. Foley controlled the offense with a team-high six assists and won the battle of the boards with nine rebounds.
 
The Stags will have a quick road trip when they visit Manhattan on Friday night at 7pm.