FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team held the MAAC's top-ranked offense to just 27 points over the final 30 minutes of the game as the Stags rallied to one of their biggest wins of the season, defeating the Marist Red Foxes 52-48 at Alumni Hall. The Stags out-scored the Red Foxes 44-27 over the final three quarters as they jumped to a second place tie with Marist.
 
"I think you have to experience tough times and tough games and you have to grow from them," Head Coach Joe Frager said. "You can either grow from it or bad things keep happening. I'm just so proud that they kept their composure when we were down 13 and withstood a furious rally. Just thrilled with the win."
 
Playing in their fourth game in just seven days, the Stags (10-8, 7-2 MAAC) fell behind quickly as Marist (14-4, 7-2 MAAC) shot 59 percent in the first quarter to jump out to a 21-8 lead. Marist would score the first bucket of the second quarter to extend their lead to 15, which would be their largest of the evening.
 
The Stags, the top-ranked scoring defense in the MAAC, would then lock down Marist as they did not allow a Marist basket for four minutes. The Stags would tally a 7-0 run during that stretch that helped them claw back into the game and make it a single digit deficit. After Marist snapped the streak with a Grace Vander Weide 3-pointer, the Stags shut out Marist for the final 3:44 of the half, scoring 10-straight points in the process.
 
Sam Kramer started the stretch with another hustle play as she chased down her own miss for the offensive rebound and was able to lay in the lay-up. Lou Lopez-Senechal hit two of her three 3-point field goals in that stretch, including a last second shot to cut the halftime deficit to just one at 28-27.
 
In total, the Stags recorded a 17-3 run over the final seven minutes of the half.
 
The Stags would keep fighting in the third quarter, finally grabbing the lead with two minutes left in the period after an Andrea Hernangomez 3-point play put the score at 35-34.  Marist would grab the lead late in the quarter, but it lasted only 19 seconds as Kramer's jumper connected in the final second and gave the Stags a 39-38 lead going into the final quarter.
 
It was all Stags to start as Fairfield tallied the first 12 points of the fourth, giving them a double digit advantage at 49-38. Lopez-Senechal connected on her final 3-pointer of the evening to cap off the 10-0 run and give Fairfield their largest lead of the contest.
 
Marist, however, would not go away as they had one final rally in them. After not tallying a field goal for the first 7:37 of the fourth quarter, Rebekah Hand broke the scoring drought with a lay-up and put the game back into single digits. Marist would hit three more shots to account for their 8-0 run in just over a minute to make it a two point game with 1:10 to play.
 
On the Stags' next possession, Hernangomez took a jump shot from the right side that hit high off the near side of the rim, the ball would eventually drop for the biggest basket of the game. Fairfield would get a stop on the other end and iced the game with one Kramer free throw to start the celebration.
 
Kramer and Lopez-Senechal tied for the team lead with 15 points apiece with Lopez-Senechal connecting on three of her six 3-point attempts. Fairfield only tallied eight assists in the game, with five coming from redshirt senior Kendra Landy, who had the five dishes without committing a turnover.
 
The Stags also recorded six blocked shots, with Lopez-Senechal, Hernangomez, and Katie Armstrong each picking up a pair. Hernangomez had the biggest rejection of the game as her emphatic block came during Fairfield's fourth quarter rally and kept Fairfield at a four point lead.
 
The Stags held the MAAC's best offense to a season-low 48 points, which included a 28 percent shooting percentage (11-for-40) over the final three quarters.
 
Fairfield will finally get a breather after their difficult week and will start their Western New York swing at Niagara on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7pm.