QUEENS, N.Y. – All the ingredients of an upset were there. The energy, the focus, the no fear on offense, the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team had all those factors and even some magic on their side. The only thing the Stags did not have going for them was the final score as they dropped a heartbreaking 71-69 overtime decision to St. John's on the road despite leading in the final 15 seconds of regulation and overtime.
The Stags had a two point lead in the extra period with just 15 seconds left, but St. John's saved their biggest run of the game for the final seconds, tallying the final four points of the game in that short span. Tiana English tied the game with nine ticks left and Fairfield turned the ball off the inbounds, allowing the Red Storm's Leilani Correa to push through the game-winning layup with 1.6 seconds left.
Fairfield held the lead against the second ranked offensive team in the Big East until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. St. John's leading scorer Qadashah Hoppie swished through a 3-pointer to grab the advantage at the 3:45 mark of the final regulation period.
The Stags fought back in the final seconds where
Katie Armstrong swished through a jumper with just 15 seconds left to give the Stags a one-point lead.
Fairfield would extend that advatange to two when St. John's got the ball back with nine seconds left. The Johnnies were able to find the basket as Correa pushed through the defense to tie the game with 2.2 seconds left, forcing overtime.
To push a Big East opponent to the wire in their home building, each member of the squad must contribute and the Stags played one of their best team games all season with a different student-athlete stepping up on each play.
Lou Lopez-Senechal is obviously the player who is at the forefront of that statement as the sophomore poured in a career-high 27 points, hitting 10 of her first 13 shots in the game.
It was the timing of those shots that benefited the Stags the most as she tallied 11 of the team's 15 points in the first quarter and had seven-straight points in the third quarter that forced a St. John's timeout as they grabbed their largest lead of the game at six points. All of those seven third quarter points came in the first three minutes as the Stags extended their halftime lead.
Fairfield led 30-28 against the Big East squad in their home arena, marking just third time this season the Red Storm trailed at the half.
Lopez-Senechal was completely shut down in the second quarter, but another Stag stepped up on the offensive front. Armstrong tallied nine of the team's 14 points in the second quarter and was also responsible for the field goal that gave the Stags the lead in the final minute, the only lead change of the first half.
Kendra Landy was the orchestrator of a Fairfield offense that shot 50 percent in the opening half as she dished out a season-high five assists. Landy doubled the entire St. John's team in the first half as the Stags limited the Red Storm to just two helpers in the first 20 minutes.
The Johnnies would end up taking the lead momentarily in the third quarter, but that's when the Stags showed the magic was on their side. Armstrong unleashed a 3-pointer from the wing that beat the third quarter buzzer and give the Stags a 47-46 advantage.
Armstrong had several big plays in the near upset, hitting the final shot in each of the third, fourth, and overtime period.
The Stags were bidding for their first win over the Johnnies since 1996 and their first win over a Big East squad since the 2014-15 season against Butler.
Lopez-Senechal ended the game with a career-high 27 points, the most by a Stag this season. Armstrong followed her with 18 and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Stags will have their quickest turnaround of the season when they host Brown on Sunday at 2pm.
