ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The dream season of the No. 25 Fairfield University Women's Basketball team reached its biggest milestone to date as the Stags hoisted the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) trophy following a thrilling 70-62 overtime victory over Niagara in the Championship Game. The Stags, who trailed for 38 minutes in the game, had to fight back from a 13-point second half deficit but rallied for the historic win.
"I'm just so proud," Head Coach
Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "I'm trying not to get emotional but these are the first happy tears I've had in awhile. I'm just so proud of this team and the way they stuck together through adversity. Obviously, a tough start to the game but this time just stuck together. They found a way to bring energy to each other, to connect, and to pour into one another when we needed it. They were incredibly tough down the stretch not only on the defensive end but stayed poised on the offensive end. I'm just so proud of them for bringing it home."
The Stags improved their record to 31-1, tying the second-most victories of any MAAC team in history. That number includes a perfect 23-0 mark against conference opponents and a conference-record 29-game winning streak, the second-longest in the nation.
Four Stags reached double-figures in the historic win, led by
Janelle Brown's 15 points. Brown averaged a team-best 16.7 points in the MAAC Tournament, leading her to be named the MAAC Championship's Most Valuable Player. Joining her on the All-Tournament team was
Emina Selimovic who tallied two double-doubles in three games and freshman
Kaety L'Amoreaux who averaged 12.3 points per game.
"It doesn't matter what type of player I am as long as I'm here and I'm helping my team get to the ship," Brown said. "To me, this is what we worked for and the proof is in the process and now we're here. It doesn't matter if I'm Player of the Year or if I don't start, it does not matter. I don't care about that, I'm worried about my teammates and what we can do in just keeping this going."
Fairfield would trail by as many as 13-points in the second half and by seven with seven minutes to play following an Aaliyah Parker 4-point play. The Stags would score the next five points on an
Emina Selimovic bucket and a
Kaety L'Amoreaux 3-pointer.
The Stags would not grab the lead until the 1:50 mark of the fourth quarter when Brown drove the lane and converted the lay-up. She would also hit a free throw with 1:08 left to give the Stags a late two-point lead. Niagara's Angel Parker would draw a foul and hit two more free throws to tie the game.
Fairfield had possession with the shot clock off, but Brown was called for an offensive foul, her fifth foul of the game. That gave Niagara a chance to win the game with three seconds remaining, but the Fairfield defense stepped up and Niagara couldn't get a shot off.
In the overtime period, the Stags would out-score Niagara 12-4 and hold them to just 1-for-7 from the floor. The Stags started the extra period on a 9-0 run starting with an Izabela Nicoletti-Leite lay-up and highlighted by a huge corner 3-pointer by
Nicole Gallagher.
Fairfield out-scored Niagara 36-25 in the second half while holding them to just 27 percent on 9-for-34 shooting.
Four Stags scored in double-figures with Brown's 15, all coming in the second half. L'Amoreaux finished with 12 while Selimovic and Nicoletti-Leite had 11. Selimovic also led the Stags in the battle on the boards with 11 rebounds. As a team, the Stags corralled a season-high 50 boards.
With the win, the Stags claim their fifth MAAC Championship in program history and their second in the last three seasons. It is the first under Coach Carly who in just her second season at the helm has led the Stags to new historic heights which is shown through an astonishing 31-1 mark and a Top-25 national ranking.
Fairfield will now turn their attention to the NCAA Tournament as they make their sixth-ever appearance in the Big Dance. Fairfield will find out their opponent on Sunday in the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show airing at 8pm on ESPN.
