BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team closed out the game on an 11-1 run, highlighted by a jumper by Lou Lopez-Senechal with 0.4 seconds remaining to give the Stags a 53-51 victory at LIU. The Stags, who trailed for the majority of the game, clamped down on defense at the end of the game, holding LIU without a field goal for the final 6:30 of the contest.
 
"To coin a term from our men's coach Jay Young, this game was like a root canal," Head Coach Joe Frager said. "There was nothing easy about it, it was painful. I thought LIU did a great job, they attacked the glass extremely well. Hopefully this was a valuable lesson learned for us that when a team is physical with us we have to match their physicality better than we did for two to three quarters."
 
The Stags trailed 50-42 with 6:30 remaining before making their run. Sam Kramer and Lopez-Senechal would net all 11 points during the decisive run. Kramer's lay-up with under two minutes to go gave the Stags their first lead since the first quarter at 51-50. LIU would tie the game on a free throw, setting up for some dramatic moments down the stretch. The Stags forced a bad shot by the Sharks with under a minute to go, giving them the ball for the game's final possession.
 
Lopez-Senechal would find space near the free throw line and swished through a jumper with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. LIU would not take a final shot as the Stags forced an errant pass.
 
The Stags led for just 5:20 in the game, with most of that time coming in the first quarter.
 
The Stags grabbed an early 6-2 lead after three student-athletes got into the scoring column. Fairfield also caught a key break in that span as the leading scorer of LIU Brandy Thomas picked up her second foul early in the first quarter, limiting her to just four minutes. The Stags could not take advantage, however, as LIU would end the first quarter with a narrow 11-9 lead. Jeydah Johnson highlighted the LIU run with a 3-pointer to give the Sharks the lead.
 
Thomas would return in the second quarter but was careful not to get a third foul called. Katie Armstrong took advantage as she took a jumper over Thomas to tie the game at 11-11. The Sharks would net six-straight points to grab a 17-11 advantage and force a Fairfield timeout. Lou Lopez-Senechal stopped that stretch with a bucket on the team's first possession out of the timeout to give the Stags some momentum.
 
However, the battle of the boards would once again be an Achilles heel for the Stags. A game after getting out-rebounded 44-22 at Seton Hall, the Stags were out-rebounded 23-18 in the first half, with a crucial 11-5 mark on the boards. The Sharks' last offensive rebound was vital, leading to a buzzer beating 3-pointer by Ryan Weise to give the Sharks a 27-23 halftime lead.
 
Lopez-Senechal began the Stags rally in the second half. The sophomore started the stretch with a layup and then drew a key charge on the other end of the floor. With the extra possession, Cavanaugh would hit a jumper to cut into the deficit.
 
In total, the Stags limited LIU to just four field goals in the final quarter while the Stags went 8-for-13 when it mattered most.
Cavanaugh went well above her previous career-high of 12 points which she did twice at Florida International. She finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Kramer scored nine of her 13 points in the fourth quarter and also hauled down a career-high seven boards. Lopez-Senechal also finished with double figures as she poured in 13, including the decisive tally. Rachel Hakes added five assists on just one turnover.
 
The Stags will return home when they battle Dartmouth in Fairfield's home opener on Sunday at 2pm.