Sophomore Desiree Pina and the Stags won their first-ever postseason game against Towson on Thursday night in the inaugural WBI. (Peter Caty/The Mirror)
The women’s basketball team fell 59-36 in the quarterfinals of the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament to No. 1 Appalachian State. The No. 5 Stags defeated No. 4 Towson 69-55 in the opening round to advance. The victory over Towson gave Fairfield it’s 20th win of the year and the loss dropped the team to 20-14 to finish the season.
This was the first postseason play for the Stags since 2001 when Fairfield received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The win over Towson was Fairfield’s first postseason win in program history.
“We looked at it as just another game, but the win meant a lot to us as a program and as individuals,” said senior Stephanie Geehan.
The WBI appearance was also the first postseason experience at Fairfield for head coach Joe Frager in his third season at the helm of the Stags.
“They responded really well,” said Frager after the win against Towson. “I think what we experienced during the MAAC Tournament really helped us. I’d give this win a nine out of 10 for us.”
Geehan scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots in the win. She ended her career with her 21st double-double of the season in the loss to the Mountaineers. She also blocked four shots on the day, finishing her career with 287, a MAAC and school record. She finished with 1,112 points and 1,052 rebounds, the fourth player in program history to eclipse 1,000 in both categories. Geehan also grabbed 390 rebounds, the single-season school record in that category.
But the Stags were unable to get much going against Appalachian State. They scored only 18 points each half and shot only 26 percent from the field for the game. Fairfield was also out-rebounded by 29.
“I think our team was struggling all around,” said sophomore Desiree Pina. “It was a tough day for us.”
The loss ended the Stags season that seemed dead in the water only several weeks ago. In early February, Fairfield sat a 4-7 in the MAAC and 10-12 overall before reeling off nine straight wins, earning the No. 3 seed in the MAAC and advancing the MAAC Championship game before falling to Marist. The Stags have finish the regular season in third place three straight times under Frager and this season was the second time that Fairfield has won 20 games. This was the first time since 2001 the team has qualified for postseason play though.
“I think it’s definitely a motivation,” said Pina. “It’s a good starting point, returning to postseason play. It’s good for the University and it’s another motivation for us to get back.”
Fairfield will hopefully have a longer rotation next year after injuries limited the Stags to playing mainly six women for the majority of the second half of the year. Against Appalachian State, the Mountaineers were able to wear down the Stags by pressing Fairfield for a full 40 minutes, said Frager.
“We turned it over uncharacteristically a few times,” said Frager. “Our kids tried. It wasn’t a lack of want, but I think we finally wore down physically. All the minutes and travel finally added up. They played a lot of different zone pressures and took our legs away by the end.”
Next year, Fairfield will lose Geehan and fellow seniors Tara Flaherty, Lauren Tucker and Kendra Hussey to graduation. But the Stags will return three starters in Pina, sophomore Taryn Johnson and freshman Katelyn Linney along with their first player off the bench in Joelle Nawrocki. Sophomore Sarah Paulus will also hopefully recover from a torn ACL to give the Stags more guard depth.
“I think everyone is going to have to step up next year,” said Pina. “I think me, Taryn Johnson and Sarah Paulus, they’re also in my class and the freshmen from this year, we’re all going to have to make a really good effort to take the next step.”
Frager agreed saying that it would be hard to replace Geehan especially, but in the past two years he has also lost Sabra Wrice ’08 and Baend Lowenthal ’09.
“We’re going to be a different team next year and I think we’re going to have to change,” said Frager. “This year we went inside a lot to our post players, but next year we might have to rely more on our guards.
“But to be honest, I’m just trying to rest right now. I haven’t thought about it too much,” he continued with a chuckle.
With a young roster, especially in the backcourt, the experience of learning how to play in the postseason will hopefully provide experience that will lead to success next year.
“The experience in the MAAC Tournament, playing three games in three days and getting to the championship game, then waiting to see if we get a bid, then beating Towson; it’s all been a great learning experience,” said Frager. “We have a better idea of what it takes to get there; it’s the teams that knuckle down at the end of the season.”
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