FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Janelle Brown picked the pocket of the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Dee Dee Davis and rushed up the court to convert the game-winning layup with 13 seconds remaining to give the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team a 52-50 victory over Manhattan on Saturday afternoon. Brown was one of three Stags in double figures in scoring, led by Callie Cavanaugh who tallied 16, including the 1,000th point of her career.
 
"We certainly like to make it interesting," Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "I'm really proud of the resiliency we showed throughout the game. Obviously we didn't play a perfect game but love how we continued to fight back after their runs. Shoutout to Callie for scoring her 1,000th point and shoutout to Nellie for making the play of the game. She didn't drop her head when we turned it over and just kept her head in it and make a huge play to win the game."
 
The Stags trailed by five with five minutes left in the final quarter before making their run. Cavanaugh started the late comeback by muscling a layup over her defender while drawing the foul. She would hit the free throw to convert her second 3-point play of the afternoon.
 
Cavanaugh came up big again inside the two-minute mark by swishing through a jumper to tie the game at 50-50.
 
The score would remain deadlocked into the final minute as Davis picked off the inbounds pass from the Stags, setting up Brown's heroics in the final seconds.
 
Fairfield had to fight back numerous times throughout the contest, falling behind by 13 in the first quarter. The Stags would build up a 14-0 run in the next six minutes of game time which stretched to the second quarter.
 
Cavanaugh would once again be at the forefront in the Stags' comeback attempt as she beat the first quarter buzzer with a long 3-pointer, which accounted for her 1000th career point.
 
Andrea Hernangomez would continue that momentum and open up the second quarter with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to seven. Lauren Beach would follow with a layup and then Brown would notch six-straight points for the Stags to give Fairfield a 20-19 lead.
 
Fairfield would fall behind by double figures again in the third quarter but were able to cut that deficit to one possession midway through the fourth.
 
The Stags would hold Manhattan scoreless through the final five minutes and held the Jaspers to just four points in the fourth quarter.
 
Cavanaugh led the Stags with 16 points and she was followed by Brown's 14 points and team-high nine rebounds. Mimi Rubino also entered double figures with 10 points.
 
The Stags will stay at home when they welcome over 2,000 local area kids to the annual Kids Day Out contest when they face Niagara on Thursday at 11am.