LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team tied the program's longest winning streak which stood for nearly 50 years as the squad won their 16th-straight game with a 67-44victory at Rider. With the win, the Stags improve their overall record to 18-1 and their conference mark to a perfect 10-0 for the first time in program history. Janelle Brown led the Stags with 17 points while Emina Selimovic added 15 including a 3-point play to cap a 9-0 run to end the third quarter.
 
"It shows we can win in a lot of different ways," Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "I think our offense stands out on paper but defensively we locked down in the second quarter and was able to use our defense to create easier offensive baskets. We can score in transition, we can score in the half court and we can obviously score off our defense as well. There's a lot of different ways we can get it done."
 
The Stags (18-1, 10-MAAC) out-scored the Broncs 20-9 in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead into the locker room. Fairfield would use a 9-0 run in that period to extend a small 21-19 lead into a comfortable 30-19 advantage.
 
Brown willed the Stags during that stretch with five of the nine points including converting a 3-point play to put the Stags up nine.
 
Meghan Andersen gave the team a double-digit lead at the halftime intermission by drilling a 3-pointer with just five seconds left on the clock.
 
The Broncs would chip that deficit to as little as seven on a Makayla Firebaugh jumper at the 3:27 mark of the third quarter, but the Stags would respond with an 11-1 run to regain control of the game.
 
Brown started that run with a pair of free throws and Selimovic added five including an emphatic 3-point play with just four seconds left in the period.
 
The Stags would completely take over the contest by scoring 10 of the first 12 points in the fourth quarter with Lauren Beach being the catalyst with six-straight points for the squad.
 
Brown led the Stags in scoring for the second-straight game with 17 points and neared a double-double with nine rebounds. In total there were three Stags in double-figures with Selimovic adding 15 on 5-for-7 shooting and Andersen pouring in 11, her 12th-straight game in double-figures.
 
Defensively, the Stags held their opponent to fewer than 50 points for the third time in the last four outings. They entered the game ranked 14th in the nation in scoring defense.
 
The 18-1 mark is the second-best winning percentage in the country, behind only top-ranked South Carolina. The 16-game winning streak matches the longest in varsity history with the 1974-75 squad that went a perfect 16-0.
 
Fairfield is back in action on Saturday afternoon when they close out the season-series with Iona on the road at 3pm.