Between Senior Night, the rivalry matchup on the court and a chance to clinch a share of the MAAC regular season title, emotions were running high in Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday night.
In the end, it was Fairfield women’s basketball that channeled those emotions best, overcoming a sloppy first half to knock off the Sacred Heart Pioneers 67-50.
“I’m proud of our second half and our ability to keep our heads when we weren’t playing at our best,” said head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis after the game. “I thought we came out focused in the second half to make a push, and I love that we grinded it out.”
It was an opening 20 minutes to forget for the Stags, who shot a combined 32.3 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from three to enter the break trailing 25-24.
The junior duo of Kaety L’Amoreaux and Meghan Andersen combined to shoot just 3-14 from the field in the half, with L’Amoreaux being held scoreless.
“They’re scrappy defensively,” Thibault-DuDonis said of the Pioneers. “When we made them work and wore them down, we really started to get some cleaner opportunities, and I thought we missed some shots early that we would take again in a heartbeat.”
The momentum shift came late in an increasingly chippy third quarter, with L’Amoreaux determined to make her mark on the game. After muscling her way to consecutive and-one finishes at the rim the prior two possessions, she drew a flagrant foul on Sacred Heart’s Sierra Johnson fighting for an offensive rebound.
The subsequent pair of free throws capped off a solo 7-0 run for L’Amoreaux that helped the Stags regain a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
“That’s kind of the biggest thing, being a competitor,” L’Amoreaux said. “Just knowing that I can influence the game in so many ways, whether it’s a rebound, diving on the floor… knowing that it’s not just what goes on the scoreboard, it’s every little thing.”
Much like their first matchup with the Pioneers a month ago, the Stags used a dominant plus-13 fourth quarter to pull away. Junior guard Jillian Huerter finished with a game-high 16 points for the Stags, followed by L’Amoreaux and Andersen with 15 apiece and sophomore road runner Cyanne Coe with 14.
The victory closed out yet another excellent regular season for Fairfield, with a 25-4 overall record and a 19-1 mark in the MAAC earning it a share of regular season crown alongside Quinnipiac. It’s the program’s third consecutive title and fourth in the last five years.
“This is the first step, but our job’s not done, and we have big goals that we can’t do without the very next game,” Thibault-DuDonis said.
Graduating team members Jalyn Sackrider, Sydni Scott, Lauren Beach and Janelle Brown were all honored before Saturday night’s game as part of the Senior Night festivities, with the latter three receiving an ovation from the Mahoney Arena crowd upon checking out of the game late in the fourth quarter.
Brown, who has been a part of the program for six years, delighted the Fairfield faithful while diving to the floor for a loose ball in the final minutes, a fitting representation of her career. She was visibly emotional as she shared a long hug with Thibault-DuDonis on her way to the sideline.
“I’m just soaking it all in,” Brown said. “I’ve been here for so long that I saw the old, and now I’m here with the new, so I’m just grateful for every moment, every second. Just trying to be where my feet are.”
Still, the Stags’ season is far from over. With a regular season three-peat secured, the team will now look to prepare for a conference tournament three-peat in the MAAC Championships in Atlantic City, N.J. next weekend.
Entering as the number two seed due to a tiebreaker with Quinnipiac, the Stags will kick off their title defense in the quarterfinals against the winner of the first round matchup between Sacred Heart and Saint Peter’s. Tip-off for the quarterfinals is set for 2:30 p.m. on Friday.
