ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The 25th-ranked, and the tournament's top-seed, Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Semifinals when they take on fifth-seeded Canisius on Friday morning at 11am. The Stags will be making their 34th appearance in the MAAC Semifinals and will be looking to advance to the Championship Game for the second time in the last three seasons and become one step closer to the program's fifth MAAC title.
 
The Stags advanced in the MAAC bracket with a gutsy 57-51 win over Rider on Tuesday. Fairfield had to fight through an off-shooting night but managed to earn the victory with their defense and some timely shots down the stretch.
 
Kaety L'Amoreaux led all scorers with 19 points including the final seven for the Stags. Two other Stags reached double-figures with Janelle Brown finishing with 16 and Meghan Andersen tallying 10.
 
After the Broncs tied the game at 40-40 in the fourth quarter, the Stags used a game-deciding 10-0 run to build a lead they would not relinquish. Four different players scored during that stretch, including back-to-back buckets by Emina Selimovic.
 
Fairfield also extended their winning streak to 27-straight, tying the conference's all-time mark. Fairfield tied the 2009-10 Marist squad who also accomplished the feat. Fairfield's 29-1 record is also the second-highest mark in the country.
 
Canisius will enter play with a 17-13 overall mark after a thrilling victory over Manhattan in the Quarterfinals. All-MAAC First Team member Sisi Eleko leads the conference with a 16.3 scoring average while also grabbing a MAAC best 10.3 rebounds.
 
The winner of this contest will advance to the MAAC Championship Game on Saturday at 3:30pm. Fairfield will be looking for their 12th appearance in the final game and be one step closer to the program's fifth-ever MAAC Tournament title.