LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Kaety L'Amoreaux neared a career-high with 28 points while also adding eight rebounds and six assists as the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team opened play in the WBCA Challenge with an 80-72 victory over South Florida. The Stags showed grit down the stretch with an 8-0 run that erased a fourth quarter deficit against the American Athletic Conference Preseason favorites.
 
"There was a little bit of a roller coaster throughout the game," Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "I thought we started out really strong but had some lapses as far as offensive rebounding and closing down the paint defensively. I thought as the game wore on, our toughness, conditioning, and ability to stick to the game plan got us that win."
 
The Stags (3-0) trailed by as many as five in the final minute of the third quarter before finding their touch from behind the arc. Sydni Scott and Christina Pham connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to regain a brief lead before South Florida converted a driving layup to bring a 61-60 lead into the final quarter.
 
Fairfield would use an 8-0 spurt in that final quarter with Pham and L'Amoreaux hitting trifectas sandwiching a Lauren Beach layup to put the Stags up 68-63.
 
The Stags would not relinquish that advantage with L'Amoreaux tallying four-straight points to stop the USF comeback.
 
Fairfield led by as many as 15 in the first quarter while hitting five 3-pointers, including three-straight early in the game.
 
The Stags would hit 13 3-pointers in the contest. It was the second-straight game and the 30th time under Coach Carly that the Stags have hit double-digit 3-pointers in a contest.
 
The victory also marked the Stags' first win over a team from the American Athletic Conference under Coach Carly as Fairfield has now collected victories over 14 different conferences in her four seasons.
 
Beach led the team with nine rebounds while also going 3-for-3 from the field.
 
L'Amoreaux went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line and has now gone 15-for-15 from the charity stripe this season.
 
Pham recorded her second-straight game in double figures with a career-high 17 points which included five 3-pointers.
 
Fairfield improves their record to 3-0 this season and 62-7 since 2023, the second-highest winning percentage in the country.
 
The Stags will close out their stay in Las Vegas with a game against nationally-ranked North Carolina on Saturday at 6pm EST.