FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will look to build their longest winning streak of the season when they travel to Loudonville, N.Y., to take on the Siena Saints on Valentine's Day on Thursday night at 7pm. The Stags come into the contest winners of four of their last six, tying for the third most wins in the conference during that span.
 
The latest of those victories came on Saturday evening as the Stags rallied from a second half deficit to defeat Niagara 55-54 at Alumni Hall. The Stags used an 11-0 third quarter run to get back into the contest, but still trailed by four with under three minutes left in the game. The Fairfield defense would not allow another point to the Purple Eagles as Niagara misfired on their last five shots.
 
The offense would take advantage with Casey Foley giving the Stags the lead with a 3-pointer with under two minutes to play. That long range shot was Foley's 114th of her career and she now trails Megan Light '02 by one 3-pointer to enter the top-10 in program history in career 3-pointers.
 
That victory was also the first for Fairfield this season by three points or fewer. Prior to this contest, the Stags were 0-6 in those close games. Historically, the Stags have been successful when the final margin in three points or fewer, holding a 20-6 record from the 2011-12 season until last year.
 
Lou Lopez-Senechal is coming off her second MAAC Rookie of the Week award of the season as she netted a team-high 14.5 points per game during the Stags' 2-0 week. The freshman also shot an impressive 71 percent from the floor, missing just five of her 17 shot attempts. She went 6-for-8 from the floor against Niagara and tallied seven points in the fourth quarter.
 
This will be the 13th time that the Stags have played on Valentine's Day, holding a 7-5 record. Under Head Coach Joe Frager, the Stags are 4-2 on February 14, with the lone losses coming to Canisius in 2009 and Marist last season. The Stags and the Saints have met once on Valentine's Day, with the Stags taking the decision on the road in 1998.
 
The Saints have dropped four of their last five decisions since a setback to the Stags at Alumni Hall. Most recently the Saints are coming off an overtime loss to Monmouth that saw Siena rally from a 17-point first quarter deficit.
 
As a team, the Saints ranks sixth in the conference in both scoring offense (58.4) and scoring defense (62.0). Siena is a team that likes to increase the defensive pressure, shown by their 7.8 steals per game. The Saints also rank fourth in the MAAC with 3.3 blocks per game.
 
Maddie Sims remains Siena's leading scorer with 12.4 points per game, but only 11.4 in conference games. She is also the team's leading rebounder with 8.1 caroms per game, a number that ranks third in the MAAC. She also ranks fourth in the league with 1.5 blocks and third with a .453 field goal percentage.
 
The Stags will return home to take on league-leading Quinnipiac on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2pm.