KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team opened their stay in the Sunshine State with a convincing 59-50 win over Stetson in their first game in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Lou Lopez-Senechal led all scorers with a season-high 22 points and Andrea Hernangomez led the charge on the defensive end as she pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds.
 
"It's nice to get the win today," Head Coach Joe Frager said. "We struggled shooting the ball, but we fought through. Andrea (Hernangomez) had a big game on the boards and we made some big shots in the fourth quarter."
 
The Stags set the tempo early on in the game with their defense, recording three steals in a four possession span, turning those into easy points to grab a 9-0 lead out of the gate. Callie Cavanuagh started the run by finishing a layup on a fast break and then swiping back-to-back steals to extend the early lead.
 
Fairfield would need another run to regain the lead after Stetson tied the game at 15-15 in the second quarter. The Stags would respond with a 13-3 run to grab a double digit halftime lead. Lopez-Senechal was responsible for 10 of those points during the run, including scoring the team's final seven points of the half.
 
The Stags would continue fighting off the Hatters, regaining the lead again in the final minute of the third quarter. Sam Lewis connected on a big 3-pointer to give Fairfield a 43-39 advantage heading into the fourth.
 
Lewis would continue her hot shooting off the bench with back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to extend the Stags lead to 52-44 with 4:35 remaining.
 
Fairfield would clinch the win by hitting seven of their final eight free throws down the stretch.
 
Despite leaving Fairfield's last game against Rutgers with an injury, Hernangomez persevered and led the Stags on the boards, pulling down a career-high 18 rebounds with 12 coming in the first half. That rebounding effort helped the Stags take a 40-29 rebounding advantage in the game. The Stags also held Stetson to a 31 percent shooting mark and just 14 percent from long range,
 
Lopez-Senechal led all scorers with 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. Rachel Hakes added seven points on six assists.
 
The win marked Fairfield's first-ever win against a member of the ASUN Conference in their first game against a league opponent.
 
Fairfield will conclude their stay in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge with a contest against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at noon. The Eagles enter the week earning 56 points in the latest National Top-25 rankings.