The Stags are locked into a battle for conference seeding with Loyola and Iona going into the final stretch of the season.
With a win on Friday against Manhattan, 59-49, in which Fairfield avenged a loss that came only a week earlier, the Stags moved into a three-way tie for second place in the MAAC.
Fairfield was able to come away with the win due to stellar defense in the second half. Trailing at halftime, 37-36, the Stags held the Jaspers to only 12 second-half points and 27.3 percent shooting.
The Stags turned the ball over 23 times, but they were able to force Manhattan to give the ball up 27 times, including eight from starting point guard Amanda LoCascio.
In addition, no Jasper player scored in double-digits.
Sophomore forward Baendu Lowenthal also recorded her sixth double-double of the season against Manhattan, scoring 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Sabra Wrice ’08 scored a game-high 15 points, continuing her role as one of the league’s best scorers.
However, the Stags dropped their next game on Sunday, falling to Canisius, 74-64.
The Stags looked like they were going to come away with the win early, leading 18-4, but the Golden Griffins slowly chipped away at the lead until they took the lead for good at the beginning of the second half.
Lowenthal again had a good game, but it came in spurts as she was limited by foul trouble. However, she was able to score 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and came up with two steals.
However, Lowenthal struggled mightily under the board, totaling only three rebounds.
Fairfield was out rebounded for the game 32-30 and was limited by foul trouble for much of the game.
The Stags’ defense slipped in the second half, allowing Canisius to shoot 53.8 percent from the floor, preventing the Stags from making a run.
Lowenthal, Meka Werts ’08 and Stephanie Geehan ’10 all had four fouls and Megan Caskin ’09 fouled out at the end of the game.
“We had certain players in foul trouble like Megan and [Lowenthal] Megan runs the plays for us and [Lowenthal] is one of our leading scorers, so we have to play a little differently,” said Head Coach Dianne Nolan.
Foul trouble wasn’t the Stags only concern. They came into the game banged up as well.
Wrice hurt her hand last Friday against Manhattan and again wore a knee brace, as she had earlier in the season. In addition, Tara Flaherty ’10 has been played with an injured hand all season and Cara Murphy ’06 dislocated a finger in practice last week.
Despite some injuries to these key players, Nolan did not make excuses for her team.
“I don’t think it was a factor. I think it bothered Murph a little bit, you could see her hold her hand when she got stripped, but I think they were okay,” she said.
Werts played well over the weekend at her usual breakneck pace, averaging 12.5 p.p.g., including a team-high 18 against Canisius. She also pulled down an average of six r.p.g. and recorded two steals in both contests.
That loss coupled with wins by Loyola and Iona put Fairfield one game behind both the Greyhounds and the Gaels for second place in the MAAC.
The Stags currently sit at 13-12 overall (9-5 MAAC) heading into their next game against Iona in what is perhaps the biggest game of the year in determining where the Stags finish in the standings.
Despite the game’s implications, the players are not worried.
“I don’t feel any extra pressure. We just have to play better on defense, which leads to our offense. We know what we need to do to win,” said Werts.
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