FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will embark on their longest conference road trip of the season as they travel to Western New York for a pair of games starting at Niagara on Thursday at 2pm. The Stags and the Purple Eagles will be meeting for the 67th time in program history and the first time since March 7, 2020.
The Stags will be bringing an unblemished 4-0 MAAC record into the contest after defeating Rider 62-44 on the road. Fairfield improved on their winning streak by registering a game deciding 12-0 run in the third quarter at the Broncs to turn a one-point deficit to a double-digit lead.
Three Stags finished in double figures, led by 27 points from
Lou Lopez-Senechal, the third-straight game she has reached the 20-point plateau. The senior shot 11-for-22 from the field and 4-for-8 from long range. She was joined in double figures by
Callie Cavanaugh who tallied 11 and
Andrea Hernangomez with 10.
With her 27-point outburst at Rider, Lopez-Senechal earned her second-straight MAAC Player of the Week award and the third time this season. She is averaging 23.3 points during her first four MAAC games, reaching double figures in three.
The Stags also recorded a season-high six blocks in the win at Rider with Cavanaugh and
Rachel Hakes each swatting away two shots. Over the last two games, the Stags have tallied nine blocks after recording just 10 blocks in their first 10 contests.
Four of Fairfield's five starters logged at least 36 minutes in the win at Rider with the bench combining for just 27 minutes. The Stags have three players ranked in the top-5 in the MAAC in minutes with Hakes leading the conference at 35.8, Lopez-Senechal ranking second with 35.6 and Cavanaugh placed fifth with 33.8.
The Stags also recorded a season low three turnovers in their win at Rider, their fewest turnovers in a game in at least 22 years. Fairfield leads the MAAC and ranks fourth in the nation with just 11.2 miscues per game.
Niagara enters as the MAAC's leading offensive team averaging 71.6 points per game. Angel Parker leads the team with a 15.6 per game scoring average and also contributes 5.8 assists.
The Stags will close out their weekend in Western New York with a meeting against Canisius on Saturday at 1pm.
