ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Lou Lopez-Senechal got the shooting touch in the first possession of the game and that momentum spread to the rest of the team as the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team shot 6-for-7 from deep in the first quarter and never trailed in a 72-56 victory in the MAAC Quarterfinals. With the win, the Stags had earned the right to advance to play second-seeded Marist in tomorrow's semifinals but the conference announced that the rest of the tournament will be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
"We're really pleased with the win," Head Coach Joe Frager said. "We knew that just because we beat them twice to go out there and get a third one they were going to be tough. We talked about getting off to as good of a start as we could and we came out of the gates and shot the ball extremely well. Just really proud of the focus and resolve because the kids were really pumped up for this tournament and we just wanted to focus on us being the best Fairfield team we could be."
 
The Stags got off to a flying start, taking a 15-point lead just 6:30 into the game. Lopez-Senechal swished through a 3-pointer on the team's first possession, the first of five-straight shots that the Stags connected on. Fairfield also connected on their first six attempts from behind the arc until they misfired on one in the final minute. That start propelled the Stags to a 22-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Saints would get as close as nine points in their deficit after hitting the first bucket of the second half. However, the Stags would extend their lead with a 15-2 run, allowing just two field goals over the next seven minutes. That brought the Stags lead to 51-29, their highest of the game.
 
Lopez-Senechal led four Stags in double figures as she finished with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, her second-straight double-double. Katie Armstrong followed her with 17 points as both members of the duo hit three 3-pointers. Sam Kramer and Rachel Hakes each tallied 10 points and combined for 13 of the team's 20 assists with Hakes leading the game with seven.
 
The Stags shot 7-for-10 from 3-point range in the first half.
 
With the announcement of the tournament cancelation, the Stags will end their season with a 16-14 record and one of three teams to win a game in the tournament. Kramer completes her career with 309 assists, the 17th most in program history. She combined that with 146 3-pointers, the eighth most in program history.
 
"It goes back to appreciating every opportunity you have to compete," Coach Frager said. "Whether it's via injury or something of a global pandemic like this is. You never know what can take an opportunity away from you. Just super proud of the season they had and the focus and growth that we showed."