Make that twenty in a row.
The wins keep on coming for the Fairfield University women’s basketball team, as the Stags defeated Mount St. Mary’s University 61-59 on a last-second, game-winning layup from guard Emina Selimovic ‘26. Selimovic capped off a crusade in which the Stags scored eight points in the final 30 seconds of play. Her efforts were helped out by guard Kaety L’Amoreaux ‘27, who shot two three pointers on an impressive 6-for-8 three-point range in the final 20 minutes of action.
“What a gutsy win,” Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said, according to the game’s official press release. “We talked going into the game that we would have to show some grit. Mount is playing great and we knew they were playing great defensively. We knew it was going to take the entire 40 minutes and we took all 40 to get that win. I’m just proud of us for not hanging our heads and continuing to fight with some grit.”
The Stags rebounded after a slow start, with the herd trailing 42-30 with four minutes to go in the third quarter. The Stags began the comeback effort by going on a 10-2 run, connecting on the final three field goals of the quarter. L’Amoreaux led the surge, sinking down two long range shots in the process, including one that beat the final buzzer of the quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Stags and the Mountaineers in a feisty battle. L’Amoreaux stepped up big for Fairfield, proving to be a difference-maker in the contest by knocking down back-to-back three pointers within the first three minutes of play, putting the Stags within one point at 48-47. They gained their first lead of the game shortly thereafter thanks to a layup from guard Janelle Brown ‘24 to make it 50-49.
The lead did not last, as the feisty battle continued as the teams traded leads over the final half of the fourth quarter. The Stags stepped up when it mattered most, and they did so by sinking 10 vital points in the final 1:14. Brown and L’Amoreaux were the catalysts for this endeavor, with Brown driving up for a layup before racing back to the other end of the court to shut down a Mount Saint Mary’s possession.
This set the stage for L’Amoreaux to add on to her impressive day, as she hit the game-tying trifecta with 30 seconds left before doing the same 16 seconds later to put the Stags up two.
Mount Saint Mary’s, down 59-57, answered right back off of a Jessica Tomasetti layup to tie the game with three seconds left. Shortly thereafter, the Stags had their prayers answered when Izabela Nicoletti-Leite ‘24 threw a successful pass to Selimovic, who was able to find the back of the net to give the Stags the win off of a wild ending.
Coach Carly was quite impressed with her team, and singled out L’Amoreaux, who was coming back from injury and shot 7-for-13 with 20 points on Saturday.
“She’s tough,” Coach Carly said. “She stays ready. I never doubt her for a second that she’s going to be ready to go when her number is called. Obviously she was battling back from an injury but I’m really proud of how she showed up for us today.”
The Stags now have a commanding 22-1 overall record and a 14-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference record as a result of the win. The Stags will next travel to Siena College and take on the Saints on Thursday, Feb. 20. For more information on the Fairfield women’s basketball team, please visit www.fairfieldstags.com.
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