FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team to win the fourth Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship, they will have to last longer than any team before as they play in the tournament's first game. Before looking ahead to trophies, the Stags will focus one game at a time with the first contest pitting the Stags against the eighth-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles on Thursday at 9:30am.
 
This will be the sixth time these two teams have in tournament play and the first since a Fairfield victory in the 2015 MAAC Quarterfinals. The two squads split the season series, with Niagara winning by three on a Jai Moore 3-point overtime play in Lewiston while the Stags held on for a one-point win at Alumni Hall. Four Stags are averaging double figures against Niagara, led by Lou Lopez-Senechal's 14.0.
 
The Stags are led by their All-MAAC players in Khadidiatou Diouf, who was named to the All-MAAC Third Team and Lou Lopez-Senechal earned a spot on the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
 
Diouf set career-highs in nearly every category during the 2018-19 season. She finished in the top-10 in the MAAC with 11.1 points per game and a .432 field goal pct. She was the lone player in the MAAC to grab 20 rebounds in a game, a feat that she has achieved twice during the season. Her two 20-rebound contests marked the first Stag to do so in a career since 1984.
 
Despite missing the first nine games of the season, Lopez-Senechal led the team with 11.4 points per game by netting 228 points. Lopez had three of the five 20-point contests for the Stags this season.
 
Joe Frager has now coached 26 All-MAAC players at Fairfield and six All-MAAC Rookie selections.
 
The Stags are 37-33 all-time in the MAAC Championships, and are looking for the team's fourth conference title. The Stags won the MAAC in 1988, 1991, and 1998. Fairfield will be trying to advance to their 30th Quarterfinals appearance, a round where they hold an 18-11 record.
 
The Stags have advanced to the semifinals 22 times in their program history, holding a 10-12 mark in those games. Fairfield has made 10 appearances in the Championship game where they hold a 3-7 mark.
 
The winner of this game will advance to the Quarterfinals and take on the top-seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats on Friday at 1:30pm.