FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team enjoyed their best defensive effort of the season as they held the Marist Red Foxes to just 31 points on 10 made field goals in a dominating 70-31 win at Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday. On the offensive front, four Stags notched double-figures led by Meghan Andersen who recorded 16, including the 700th point of her career.
 
"That was something that we focused on since Christmas," Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said about the defensive effort. "We know they have some really good offensive players and good offensive sets so to be disruptive we knew we had to have some really good ball pressure to take them off their timing. Especially against someone as good in the post as Morgan Lee and they have shooters all around her. We knew we had to cover up the actions they run with our defensive pressure."
 
That defensive pressure was apparent right from the jump as Fairfield (11-3, 5-0 MAAC) held Marist to just four points in the first and second quarters with the Red Foxes shooting just 16 percent in the first 20 minutes.
 
Marist actually scored the game's first basket but would be held off the scoreboard for the next six minutes as Fairfield went on a 15-0 run.
 
Fairfield built a 31-8 halftime and would hold a 20+ point lead for the entire second half. Fairfield's largest lead was 41 in the final minute of the game.
 
With the win, the Stags remain one of two unbeaten MAAC teams, joining in-state rivals Quinnipiac. Fairfield has also now won 28-straight games against MAAC opponents, a streak that has spanned over 672 days.
 
Fairfield has won all five of their MAAC games by at least 15 points with an average winning margin of 26 points.
 
Andersen led a quartet of Stags in double-figures with 16 points as she went 6-for-9 from the field. Emina Selimovic added 12 points while Cyanne Coe and Kaety L'Amoreaux each notched 10. Coe went 5-for-6 from the floor and is now shooting 70 percent against MAAC teams.
 
Fairfield's defense forced 20 Marist turnovers while dishing out just four assists. The Stags scored 27 points off of those turnovers. Fairfield was also dominant in the paint, outscoring Marist 42-14 in the paint and out-rebounding the team by 12.
 
Fairfield will now embark on their Western New York swing, starting with a visit to Niagara on Thursday at 11am.