Out foxed

Entering last weekend, Fairfield women’s basketball stood at 8-8 overall and 3-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). But after a rare Buffalo sweep of Canisius and Niagara, an upset of No. 20 Marist and a win over Manhattan, the Stags sit at 12-8 overall and 7-2 in the MAAC.

The Red Foxes entered the game with a 37-game home MAAC win streak and a 14-game winning streak. Previously, their last loss was at the hands of No. 3 Oklahoma.
Senior Baendu Lowenthal scored the first nine points of the game, keeping the Stags close. She finished with her fourth double-double of the season scoring 21 points and pulling in 10 rebounds.

Neither team was able to pull away in the second half, and the game was sent into overtime with the score knotted at 65. In overtime, the Stags did not allow Marist to hit a field goal and senior Lauren Groom scored the last seven points of the game for the 73-65 win.

Groom missed the first three games with an injured finger and only recent rejoined the starting lineup. But since she has, she has scored in double-figures in the past five games.

‘I’d never gotten injured before,’ said Groom. ‘It was definitely frustrating and tough to get back into the flow.’

She has started the past ten games and is averaging 8.2 points per game.

‘I’m starting now, but in the beginning I wasn’t ready to get back in,’ said Groom. ‘I had to work back slowly. Coach was getting me more and more time.’

Head coach Joe Frager was thrilled with the team’s effort.

‘There’s no doubt this is the biggest win we’ve had at Fairfield since I’ve been here,’ Frager said. ‘This was a huge win for us. ‘That’s pretty close to as well as we are capable of playing.’

After the win against Marist, Fairfield suffered a quick turnaround and only had one day to prepare for a game against Manhattan.

The Stags struggled from the start against the Jaspers. Fairfield fell behind initially, trailing 29-27 at halftime.

However, the Stags responded in the second half to win 70-51. Senior Shireyll Moore scored 11 points, Groom scored 10 points and Lowenthal scored 12 points in the second half alone.

‘In my four years, we’ve never beat Marist and today was a big win too, coming off all the hype against Marist, it was really important to win,’ said Groom.
Groom finished with 16 points, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc.

‘You can see she’s effective,’ said Frager. ‘Our floor spacing is better. It’s night and day when she’s out there. Teams are able to clog the paint when we don’t have an outside shot.’

But the win was in doubt after the first half in which the Stags allowed the Jaspers to shoot 50 percent from the floor.

‘I was really worried [about a letdown],’ said head coach Joe Frager. ‘I think their hearts were in the right place, but emotionally it was hard for them to match how excited they were for Marist.

Frager added, ‘You have to give credit to Manhattan, though. They run good stuff and put their girls in positions to succeed. But we challenged the girls at the half and they responded.’

In the second half, Frager played a bigger lineup, with both Groom and Moore on the floor at the same time in place of freshman Desiree Pina, who played the majority of the game in foul trouble.

‘It was a combination of factors,’ said Frager. ‘Defensively, we thought that our size helps us. We did a little of that against Marist, as well.’

The move worked to perfection, as the Stags were able to hold Manhattan to 31 percent shooting in the second half.

‘The defensive intensity was not as good in the first half,’ said Groom. ‘We also had better offensive execution in the second half. We made some mistakes and had some turnovers in the first half.’

After the win, Lowenthal was named the MAAC Co-Player of the Week, the second week in a row she has been honored.

In addition, Lowenthal has recorded a 20-point effort in each of her last four contests, all Fairfield victories.

In the Stags most recent games, Lowenthal has shot 18-of-31, and added also hit half of her attempts from three-point range.

Amazingly, the senior captain has scored at least 15 points in each of the team’s last eight games, as well as 15 of Fairfield’s 20 games this season.

With only one game separating the Stags from Marist in the conference standings, the team’s upcoming home stretch boasts a lot of importance, including postseason implications.

The Stags return to action on Thursday at Alumni Hall against Siena at 7 p.m. Siena is in fourth place in the MAAC at 6-3 in the conference and 7-11 overall.