The women’s basketball team let an opportunity for second place in the MAAC slip away on Saturday.
One game behind Iona and Loyola coming into the game against Iona, Fairfield fell 59-47, putting them in fourth place.
The Stags never looked comfortable and couldn’t get in a rhythm offensively all game.
Head Coach Dianne Nolan blamed their struggles on a lack of teamwork.
“I think people were trying to get free on their own and not really using each other,” she said.
Iona held the lead the entire game and Fairfield could never put a run together to pull ahead.
“The game was on the ropes and we missed a couple shots, we missed a couple foul shots. We held, we held, we held, and then they kind of gapped us,” said Nolan.
The Stags shot only 30.2 percent from the floor for the game, including 14.3 percent from behind the arc, and a pitiful 46.4 percent (13 of 28) from the charity stripe.
Why Fairfield struggled so much from the free throw line was a source of confusion to the players and coaches.
“I have no idea. I wish I knew that answer. We shoot them in practice every day. I think it just became a head game,” said Nolan.
Sophomore forward Baendu Lowenthal agreed with Nolan’s sentiment.
“I think I agree it was a head game,” she said. “We’ve been shooting them ever since we were little. I think most of it is mental when it comes to foul shots.”
However, Lowenthal did play well, when she did play.
The Stags star forward was limited to 20 minutes on the court due to foul trouble. Despite this, she was able to put in 10 points and come up with two steals as well.
“You have to be cautious when you start the game with two fouls,” she said. “You have to pick and choose [when to go for a steal]. I guess my choices were wrong today.”
Fairfield was led in scoring by junior guard Sabra Wrice, who had 14 points, but only shot 3 of 14 from the field. She also re-injured her left hand on a fast break. However, it shouldn’t keep her out of Monday’s game.
Freshman forward Stephanie Geehan, however, was a bright spot in the disappointing loss. She led the Stags with 10 rebounds and also filled out the rest of her stat sheet with eight points, a block, and a steal.
Despite Geehan’s rebounding, the Stags lost the battle overall, getting out rebounded 43 to 39.
The loss drops the Stags back to .500 at 13-13 overall and 9-6 in the MAAC. Currently sitting in fourth place, which is their likely final seeding as well. It is unlikely that they will be able to catch Loyola for the third seed with only three games left to play and the Greyhounds holding a two game advantage.
Nolan summed up the game with a remark that could also be applied to their MAAC standing.
“I think we lost some opportunists when we had them,” said Nolan.
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