Coming off two-straight MAAC losses and facing its third game in five days, the women’s basketball team was in danger of blowing its momentum from its season-opening 6-1 run.
Despite going up against 6’6″ and 6’4″ players in the opposing frontcourt, the Stags used their speed and hustle to upset Boston College 59-54 and improve to 7-3 overall (0-2 MAAC).
“It was a battle the whole game,” said junior co-captain Baendu Lowenthal. “A lot of blood was shed. It was a good win.”
Head Coach Joe Frager was worried that the Stags would struggle after a grueling schedule and two-straight MAAC losses against St. Peter’s and Marist.
“With only one day to prepare and coming off those two games, I thought our women did just a tremendous job today,” said Frager.
Co-captain Sabra Wrice ’08 led the Stags with 24 points, while Lowenthal ’09 banged around in the post, managing to score 20 points and pull down seven rebounds.
Lowenthal used her quickness to draw the BC players out of their comfort zone.
“That’s one advantage we have against bigger post players,” said Lowenthal.
Wrice and Lowenthal are normally counted on to carry the load for the Stags, but other players stepped up as well. Lauren Groom ’09 hit a big shot with 2:03 left to give the Stags the lead.
But Groom would not have had the chance if it were not for junior point guard Megan Caskin.
“I think Megan Caskin did a great job delivering the ball to her,” said Frager. “She came off a high ball screen and the first option was to get Sabra spotted up, but at the last minute she saw Lauren cutting along the baseline and made a great pass to get the ball to her.”
Never known for her scoring and averaging only 2.9 points per game, Caskin earns her time on the court in other ways.
She leads the team with 42 assists to 30 turnovers. She is also a good rebounding guard, pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game, third highest on the team.
She tied for the team- high with seven against BC.
“That’s just heart and hustle,” said Caskin. “You just want to get that ball.”
Caskin is averaging 34.6 minutes per game and is a key part to running the Stags’ offense.
“Taking care of the ball is a priority for any basketball team,” said Wrice after the loss against Marist.
“Megan does an excellent job of that. When we stop turning the ball over, we’re a much better team. A lot of credit goes to her. If she’s taking care of the ball, it helps everyone else follow suit,” she added.
Caskin said Frager’s half-court offense has helped the team this season.
“This year we have much more structure to what we are doing and we are more focused and we are executing,” she said. “It’s working well for us.”
“Mostly, I look to distribute the ball,” she said. “I have to work on my confidence in shooting.”
While she is not a scoring guard, Caskin has hit a few big shots this season.
Against Sacred Heart, she finished with six points, all of which came in the final minutes of the game.
Her three, with the score tied, proved to be the winning points in the competitive game.
“Megan’s primary look is to feed first, but she stepped up and hit her shot when she needed to,” said Wrice after the game.
Caskin and the Stags’ hustle led them to an upset of an ACC team.
Fairfield looks to continue that success over the winter break in the Fordham Tournament, which begins Dec. 29, and in its MAAC schedule.
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