PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team held Big Ten Rutgers to just 48 points while forcing 18 turnovers, but the Stags would come up short with a 48-42 loss on the road. Fairfield trailed by just one in the final minute, before the Scarlet Knights extended their lead with a 7-0 run.
 
"I'm proud of our effort," Head Coach Joe Frager said. "We battled throughout the game and made a good run to cut it back to one. I was pleased with our strong defensive effort, they are long and athletic. Due to illness and injury we were forced to play a few unusual lineups in the second half. We can grow from this."
 
The Stags held toe-to-toe with Big Ten Rutgers, a team that received votes in the Preseason Top-25, as they earned a halftime lead and trailed by just one in the final minute.
 
Fairfield grabbed their first lead of the day after a Lou Lopez-Senechal pullup jumper completed a 5-0 run to give the Stags a 9-8 advantage. Mackenzie Daleba would cap that first quarter run with a driving layup, her first career field goal.
 
Callie Cavanaugh would extend the Fairfield lead with the first score of the second quarter, capping Fairfield's 9-0 run.
 
The two teams would exchange baskets over the rest of the second quarter with four ties and five lead changes. Three different Stags would score during that span with Cavanaugh's two free throws giving Fairfield a 21-20 halftime lead.
 
Rutgers led by as many as seven in the early part of the third quarter before Fairfield made their final run. Rachel Hakes began the comeback with a jumper coming out of a timeout. Lopez-Senechal would draw a charge on the very next possession and a Sydney Lowery jumper cut the deficit to three.
 
Fairfield would force two misses on Rutgers' next possession and Lowery would cut the lead to one on a driving layup.
 
Rutgers would rally in the final minute, going on a quick 7-0 run that was ignited by a Victoria Morris 3-pointer after a timeout.
 
Cavanaugh led the Stags for the second straight game with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting. In her last six games, Cavanuagh is averaging 13.5 points while shooting 50 percent (34-for-68) from the field.
 
Lopez-Senechal followed Cavanaugh with 11 points.
 
The Stags will continue their four-game road trip as they compete in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge, beginning with a contest against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, Nov. 19 at 1:30 pm.