The Fairfield University women's basketball opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play on Friday in Jersey City, N.J., falling 71-53.  The loss drops the Stags to 6-2 on the year and 0-1 in the MAAC while Peahens improve to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in league play.

The Stags opened the second half with a strong offensive effort.  Sabra Wrice went 3-4 from the field in the first 3:21 of the half to bring the Sags to within five, 43-38.  The teams battled back and forth, with the Stags not allowing a Peahens field goal for nearly eight minutes.  The Peahens pushed the lead to 12 points, 52-40, on a pair of Tania Kennedy free throws with 9:43 to play.  It was 54-40 when Wrice hit a free throw with 8:29 to play, snapping a 4:41 scoring drought for the Stags.

The Stags continued to close the gap with back-to-back hoops from Baendu Lowenthal, a jumper from Wrice and a put-back by Megan Caskin, to get within 59-49, with 4:48 to play in the game.  The Stags would get no closer however, as the Peahens finished the game with a 12-4 run, to earn the victory.

Lowenthal and Wrice led the Stags each scoring 15 points in the contest.  Stephanie Geehan had a team-high seven rebounds, while Caskin finished with three assists, three steals and no turnovers.

Saint Peter's went to the line 26 times in the second half of play, hitting 24, and finished the game 28-32 from the line.  On the flip side, the Stags were just 5-11 from the charity stripe, including 1-4 in the second half.

The Stags were out rebounded 47-27 for the game, and 18-9 on the offensive glass.  Fairfield committed 16 turnovers, while forcing 18, and blocked three shots, with nine steals.  The Stags shot 39.7 percent from the field, going 2-11 from behind the arc.  The Peahens shot 37.7 percent from the field, 3-7 from behind the arc.

Lauma Reke led the way with 19 points and 11 boards for the Peahens.  Natasha Morris had 16 rebounds.

Saint Peter's jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held the Stags scoreless until Wrice knocked down a three-pointer 2:13 into the game.  The Peahens extended the lead to 11-3, before a timeout.  The Stags scored five unanswered to get to within three points, 11-8. 

Fairfield closed the deficit to two points, 18-16 on a Stephanie Cziria basket at 11:03, and would not score again for nearly four minutes.  In that time the Peahens would open a 15-16 advantage.  Cziria scored to end the drought with 7:16 left in the first half.  After a Saint Peter's basket, Lauren Groom knocked down a 14-footer to make the score 27-20.  The Peahens extended the lead to 10-points, 30-20 with 5:55 to play in the half.  Saint Peter's took its largest lead of the half, 35-24 on a three-pointer by Tania Kennedy with 2:12 left.  The Stags got back within 35-27, but trailed 37-27 at the intermission.

The Stags open the home portion of their MAAC schedule on Sunday, Dec. 9, hosting Marist College at Alumni Hall at 1 p.m.