ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The No. 25 Fairfield University Women's Basketball team survived an off-shooting night as their defense and some timely shots led the Stags to a 57-51 victory over eighth-seeded Rider in the MAAC Quarterfinals. With the win, the Stags tie the conference record with their 27th-straight win and also improve their overall record to 29-1, the second-best mark in the country.
 
"I'm proud of our team for gutting out a tough win," Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis, the MAAC Coach of the Year said. "It's not supposed to be easy in March. You have to find a way to win and this team has done that all year long. We haven't played perfect to this point but still found ways: using our defense and our ability to disrupt them defensively. I'm proud of the guts we showed down the stretch and I thought our point guards did a great job at pulling us through and showing poise down the stretch."
 
The Stags (29-1) used a 10-0 run after the Broncs tied the game in the fourth quarter to regain control. Four different players scored during the turning point of the game with Karly Fischer beginning the stretch with a layup. Meghan Andersen would convert a fast break layup, and Emina Selimovic had back-to-back huge buckets with less than five minutes on the clock.
 
Kaety L'Amoreaux led a trio of Stags in double-figures with 19 points including a 5-for-6 performance from the free throw line in the closing minute. L'Amoreaux scored the final seven points for the Stags including a driving layup with 43 seconds left to extend the slim lead to six.
 
The MAAC Player of the Year, Janelle Brown followed L'Amoreaux with 17 points while going 7-for-14 from the floor.
 
The MAAC Rookie of the Year, Meghan Andersen tallied 10 points and led the team with eight rebounds. She hit two huge 3-pointers to open up the second quarter to give the Stags a lead. The back-to-back long-range shots capped off an 8-0 Fairfield run to erase a 3-point first quarter deficit.
 
Fairfield would lead by as many as 12 as they started the second half on an 8-2 run which featured a pair of 3-point buckets from L'Amoreaux.
 
With the win, the Stags tie the conference's all-time record with 27-straight wins, a feat that was also achieved by the 2009-10 Marist squad.
 
Fairfield will advance to the MAAC Semifinals for the 34th time in their history and the second time in the last three seasons. The #25 Stags will play the winner of the Manhattan and Canisius contest later today.