FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team keeps finding ways to win. Today, it was through some key defensive stops down the stretch and timely free throw shooting helping the Stags to a 78-73 victory over Siena for their 12th-straight win. Meghan Andersen led a trio of Stags in double-figures with 23 points while going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe.
 
"You expect a great game with Siena," Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "They're incredibly tough defensively and are going to make you work for every shot. I thought we got a little stagnant in the second half but I'm proud of how we found different ways to have it happen. Whether it was getting to the free throw line and we got some defensive stops. It wasn't pretty but I'm proud of us for being able to close out a tough game."
 
The Stags (14-1, 6-0 MAAC) would build an 18-point halftime lead, their largest of the game while shooting 47 percent from the floor. The squad did a good job balancing the scoring with eight different Stags getting into the scoring column.
 
Siena would cut that lead to just seven by the end of the third quarter and to little as two in the fourth.
 
Andersen would swish through a 3-pointer to give the Stags a double-digit lead at the 6:49 mark, but that would be the last field goal for the squad allowing Siena to build their 8-0 run.
 
Janelle Brown would secure the final five points for the Stags, going 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final two minutes.
 
As a team, the Stags shot 75 percent from the line, hitting 21 of their 28 attempts. Brown would lead the way with an 8-for-9 mark with Andersen going 7-for-8.
 
Andersen would lead the team with 23 points, her 13th double-digit scoring game of the season and the fifth time she has reached the 20-point mark. Brown chipped in 15 while Kendall McGruder adding 11 by draining three 3-pointers.
 
Izabela Nicoletti-Leite orchestrated the offense with seven assists on just one turnover.
 
The 12-game winning streak is the fourth-longest in school history and the sixth-longest in the country.
 
The Stags will next take the court in Poughkeespie, N.Y., to face Marist on Saturday at 4pm.