ALBANY – For the fifth straight year, the women’s basketball team faced Siena in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament. And for the fourth time, Fairfield emerged with a win.
The 61-55 win in overtime was the third-seeded Stags’ third win on the season against the No. 6 Saints.
Fairfield entered the game on a downward spiral, losing its last two games and winning only one of its last four.
‘Sometimes you just need to break through and get a win,’ said head coach Joe Frager. ‘But at the end of the year, records don’t mean anything. Teams are desperate for seeding and when you get to the post-season when it’s one-and-done, you’re going to get everyone’s best performance. I like where we are right now. I’m very very proud of our kids. They gave one heck of an effort today.’
The Stags came out strong and pulled away for most of the first half. With 5:15 remaining in the first half a Lauren Groom ’09 three-pointer gave Fairfield a 16 points lead.
That lead would dimish by halftime after Siena’s Serena Moore scored six points in the final two and a half minutes to cut the margin to five.
In the second half, the Stags struggled offensively as the Saints played predominately in a 2-3 zone. After shooting 48.3 percent from the field in the first half, Fairfield shot 30.8 percent in the second.
Siena battled back into the game and ultimately took the lead on a layup by Moore with 11 seconds left. Senior Megan Caskin brought the ball up past halfcourt and Frager called a timeout.
Groom inbounded to Caskin who passed to senior Baendu Lowenthal in the post. She went up, and with three seconds left scored the basket to send the game into overtime.
‘Yeah, I’m a real genius giving it to her,’ said Frager with a smile. ‘That’s something we wanted to do. We definitely wanted to go inside and if she didn’t make the basket, try to draw a foul in that situation. We worked on that particular play in practice yesterday. We executed it in practice and then we continued today. Coaches love that.’
In overtime, Fairfield held the Saints scoreless and ultimately overcame missed free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Junior Stephanie Geehan had seven blocks in the game, giving her 91 on the season, one shy of the program’s single-season record.
Fairfield will face No. 2 Canisius on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. Fairfield and Canisius split the regular season series, with both teams winning on the road.
‘They are a phenomenal shooting team,’ said Frager. ‘They spread the floor well and set screens from a lot of different angles. So we have to communicate really well.
‘It’s just going to be a contrast in styles with the way these two teams play,’ he added. ‘We have to be ready for 40 minutes or better tomorrow. We have to guard like crazy and limit their second shots. They are really a dangerous team with second shots. That put back or kick out where they can spot up good shooters.’
Canisius was able to rest most of its starters during a 71-46 blowout of Niagara. But the team is confident it will be ready for the game tomorrow.
‘If you’re a competitor, tired isn’t even in your vocabulary,’ said Frager. ‘You’ve got a lot of time to rest when this is all over. To heck with tired.’
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