45°
“I think there’s no doubt the non-conference schedule helped these kids,” Head Coach Joe Frager said. “The more that we can put them in difficult situations and they have to respond to it, that’s how you grow. The heart they showed in the second half was fantastic.”
With the game tied at 40 with just under four minutes to play, Carey got the biggest bucket for the Stags, finishing her 16-point performance. Neither team would notch a field goal for the rest of the contest, giving the Broncs the ball with 30 seconds to tick.
Rider, held to just 13 second-half points, would miss their shot attempt, and Felicia DaCruz corralled the rebound and sank the free throw to guarantee at least overtime.
Rider got the ball to their 3-point shooter, but Emily Fazzini’s attempt was well off the mark, giving Fairfield a fifth win in their last six games. It is also the sixth win of the season in which the Stags trailed at some point in the final period.
Carey had a game-high 10 points, five more than any other player during the frame, and exactly half of Fairfield’s halftime points. Carey started her run with 5:23 left in the first half to cut the Fairfield deficit to 21-13. Carey would notch five straight points in a three-minute span to inch the Stags closer.
Samantha Cooper would finish with a career-high 12 boards, the highest number for any Stag player this season. For the first time since Dec. 2, 2004, the Stags failed to hit a 3-point basket, ending their streak of 310 consecutive games with an outside shot.
Fairfield will now travel to New Jersey for a meeting with Monmouth. Tipoff is Sunday at 2 p.m.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Fairfield and receive free news updates.
