Box Score

The Fairfield University women's basketball team out scoured Canisius College 6-0 down the stretch to earn a 54-46 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) victory on Friday night.  The Stags improve to 9-8 on the year and 4-2 in league action, while the Griffs drop to 12-5 overall and 4-2 in MAAC play.

Marie Warner scored with 4:18 left in the game to bring Canisius as close as it had been since a 15-15 tie in the first-half, 48-46.  The Fairfield defense, which was the story of the game, tightened and did not allow a point the remainder of the way. The Stags would get a Shireyll Moore lay-up with 2:24 to play for a 50-46 advantage, and then hit 4-5 from the free throw line in the final 37 seconds to ice the victory.

Baendu Lowenthal scored 15 first-half points for the Stags, shooting 7-8 from the floor, her second three-pointer in as many games.  As a team, Fairfield hit 50 percent from the floor, 12-24, in the period.  Lowenthal would finish the game as the leading scorer with 21 points, hitting 10-15 from the floor and 1-2 from behind the arc.  She would also pull down nine boards and dish out three assists.

Stephanie Geehan and Lauren Groom both also scored in double-digits for the Stags, each finishing with 10 points.  Geehan was a perfect 4-4 from the line, as well as blocking five shots in her 26 minutes of action.  Groom went 5-9 from the field with two rebounds and a steals.

Fairfield jumped out to a 15-8 advantage 11:23 into the game, but Canisius would answer with seven straight to knot the score 15-15 with 6:14 to play.  The Stags would hold the Griffs scoreless the remainder of the half, and score 10 straight, going 4-5 from the field, to open a 25-15 halftime lead.  The 15 points was the lowest opponent total in a half this season, as the Stags held Saint Peter's to 17 points in the first half of the Dec. 5 victory.

The Stags win snaps a nine-game Canisius win streak, and hands the Griffs just their second home loss of the season.  The Griffs entered the week 6^th in the nation in three-point percentage, at 39.7 percent, but the Stags forced them into a 3-18 night (16.7%).

Fairfield finished the game 23-49 from the field, with a 2-8 effort from behind the arc.  The Stags were 6-9 from the line, with all nine attempts coming in the second half.  The team blocked seven shots, had five steals, dished out 14 assists and committed 18 turnovers.  Canisius shot 33.3 percent as a team, 9-11 from the line, and had seven assists and seven turnovers.  The Stags won the rebound battle 35-28 with both teams recording nine offensive rebounds.

Brittane Russell led Canisius with 16 points, while Marie Warner had a double-double, with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Moore finished with nine points, on 4-7 shooting, for the Stags.  Megan Caskin played 30 minutes, with four assists and four rebounds.

The Stags wrap-up their Western New York swing on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at Niagara University.