Box Score

The Fairfield University women's basketball team won its fourth straight game, defeating Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Manhattan College 70-51 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.  The win improves the Stags record to 12-8 overall and 7-2 in league play, while the Jaspers fall to 6-14 on the year and 3-5 in the MAAC.

Megan Caskin knocked down a pair of free throws, her only points of the game, with 9:49 to play in the half, giving the Stags a 47-41 advantage, and kick starting a 17-0 Fairfield run.  The Stags shot 4-6 from the field and a perfect 8-8 from the line during the stretch, while also holding Manhattan scoreless.  The Jaspers made the score 45-41 with 10:08 left in the game and would not score for the next 5:07, shooting 0-6, with three turnovers during the stretch.

Manhattan scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 29-27 lead at the intermission.  Fairfield had taken an early lead, and despite five ties, did not relinquish it until the closing seconds of the first half.  The Stags took their largest lead of the first-half, 27-22, with 4:39 to play.  The Stags shot 0-4 from the floor, with five turnovers, from that point until the end of the half, as Manhattan scored seven straight, taking its first lead 29-27 on a Kelly Regan jumper with 67 seconds left in the half.

The Stags missed their first three shots of the second half, until Baendu Lowenthal ended the drought at just over six minutes, with a basket 90 seconds into the half, knotting the score 29-29.  Stephanie Geehan netted a second-chance basket on the Stags next possession to put Fairfield ahead 31-29, a lead that it would not relinquish.

Manhattan missed its first five shots of the second half, before a three-pointer from Alyssa Herrington at the 16:42 mark, snapping the Stags 6-0 half opening run, and making the score 33-32 Fairfield.  Lauren Groom answered with her second consecutive basket, giving the Stags a 35-32 advantage.  Shireyll Moore gave Fairfield its largest lead of the game, to that points, with a three-pointer at 14:46, making the score 38-32.

Fairfield would shoot 51.6 percent from the floor in the second half, while holding Manhattan to 31 percent, and out scoring the visitor 43-22 in the half.  The Stags were 9-9 from the stripe in the second half, after shooting 1-7 in the first-half.  Fairfield hit 49.1 percent from the field for the game and 4-7 from behind the arc.  The Jaspers finished shooting 40 percent for the game, 7-17 from downtown and 0-7 at the stripe.

Lowenthal led the Stags in scoring, tallying 20 points, her fourth consecutive game with at least 20 points, as she shot 10-17 from the field.  The senior also added seven rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot.

Groom jumpstarted the Stags second-half run, scoring 10 of her 16 points in the second half.  She went 5-8 from the field with a pair of three pointers and a 4-4 effort from the free throw line.  Moore also finished in double-figures, with 11 points on 4-5 shooting from the field and 2-3 from behind the arc.  Stephanie Geehan scored seven points, had a game-high nine rebounds and blocked four shots.

The Stags had 15 assists on their 28 field goals, while committing only 12 turnovers.  The Jaspers dished out 10 assists on 22 field goals, while turning the ball over 17 times.

The Stags will be back in action on Thursday, January 29, as they host Siena College at Alumni Hall at 7 p.m.