The Fairfield University women's basketball team captured the Fordham Holiday Classic with a 70-41 victory over Mount St. Mary's in the championship game.  The win improves the Stags to 10-3 on the year, as they win their fourth straight game.  The Mount falls to 3-9 on the season.

Sabra Wrice scored 22 in the championship game, following a 16-point effort against Troy, to earn tournament MVP honors.  It was the second MVP honor for Wrice this season, as she earned similar honors at the Cal-Poly Holiday Beach Classic.  Baendu Lowenthal had a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double in the championship game win to earn selection to the All-Tournament Team.

Fairfield came out with a strong effort on both ends of the floor to start the second half.  The Stags scored the first 23 points of the period, expanding a six-point halftime lead to a 54-25 advantage, before The Mount scored for the first time in the half, with 11:47 to play.  The Mount did not go away however, coming back with a 14-4 run, to cut the deficit to 19 points, 58-39 with 6:12 left to play.  The Stags would not allow another point to The Mount until the closing seconds, to seal the victory.

Wrice scored the first four points of the half and had 10 points in the Stags 23-0 half opening run.  She finished the game shooting 8-13 from the field, with a pair of three-pointers, and going 4-4 at the stripe.  Wrice also added six rebounds and three steals.

Lauren Groom had a fine showing in the win, finishing with a season-high 13 points, hitting on 5-6 from the field.  She was good on 3-4 from behind the arc and had six rebounds in 30 minutes of action.  Megan Caskin played 22 minutes, with first-half foul trouble, and had seven assists and no turnovers in that time.  She also had four points and four rebounds in the win, to go along with two steals.

The first half was a back and forth affair, with three ties and three lead changes.  Fairfield's largest lead was eight points, 31-25 after a Meka Werts three-pointer with 24 seconds left in the half.  The Mount led by as many as three-points early in the first half, 6-3, 3:15 into the game.

The Stags trailed 8-5 when Lauren Groom knocked down a long three-pointer as the shot clock was close to expiring, knotting the game with 15:40 left in the first half.  That basket was the first of a 9-0 Fairfield run, as the Stags opened a 14-8 advantage with 11:42 left in the half.  The Mount rallied back with six straight of its own, as Tiffany Green knocked down back-to-back three-pointers.

Fairfield scored four unanswered points to go ahead 18-14, but again gave them back as The Mount tied the score 18-18 with 8:42 to play.  Niya Santiago drained a three-pointer 25 seconds later, and then Tara Flaherty stole a pass from The Mount as they advanced the ball to midcourt, which led to a Wrice three-pointer and a 24-18 advantage, with just over 8:00 to play.  The Mount made it 24-21 with 6:07 to play, but the Stags defense would come into play again, not allowing a basket for 4:05 and just four points the rest of the half, to take a 31-25 lead into the break.

Fairfield finished the game shooting 50.9 percent from the field, including a 66.7 percent effort, 16-24, in the second half.  The Stags out rebounded The Mount 44-24 for the game and dished out 18 assists.  The Mount shot 30.2 percent from the field for the game, and were held to just 17.9 percent in the second half, 5-28.

The tournament crown marks the second of the season for the Stags, who also won the Cal-Poly Holiday Classic in November with wins over the host and North Dakota State.  It marks the first time since 1984-85 Women's Court Classic that the Stags have won an in-season tournament hosted by another institution.  It is the first time they have won two such tournaments in a single season.

Lauren Howell led The Mount with 12 points, on 4-9 from behind the arc, and was joined in double-figures by Tiffany Green, who had 11.

Fairfield returns to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play with its next game, traveling to Marist on Saturday, Jan. 5, for a 7 p.m. contest.