Stags vs #1 Marist in Semifinal Round, Friday at 11:00 am

[FU73]

The Stags have advanced to the MAAC Semifinals and will take on Marist, the same matchup that was scheduled for last season's tournament, before being canceled due to the CoVid-19 pandemic. This is the 24th time that the Stags have advanced to the MAAC Semifinals in program history. The two squads will play their long awaited matchup on Friday afternoon at 11am.

The Stags were (1-1) against Marist in the MAAC Regular Season.

ESPN+
www.espn.com/watch/player?id=c9ddec82-7e87-4b49-9b8e-249eaebabece

Live Stats
stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=340061

[jenningsbeach]

If you don't subscribe to ESPN+, there is a radio option. For some reason, Quinnipiac's QBSN is broadcasting the game.

Listen live:

theqbsn.com/listen/

[FU73]

Stags 9-15 at the end of the First Quarter shooting 20% FG 3/15

Andrea Hernangomez with 5 points, 2 boards and 2 fouls

[FU73]

Stags 25-33 at the half shooting 36% FG 10/28

Marist ends the quarter on a 5-0 run.

FT:
Stags - 2/2
Marist - 8/11

Callie Cavanaugh with 10 points
Sam Lewis with 6 points
Rachael Hakes with 2 points and 8 assists

FG: Lou Lopez-Senechal 1/6, Katie Armstrong 0/5, Rachael Hakes 1/4.

[FU73]

Marist starts the Third Quarter on a 5-0 run.

[FU73]

Stags 40-53 at the end of the Third Quarter

Marist 7/21 from outside and 10/13 FT

Callie Cavanaugh with 14 points
Lou Lopez-Senechal with 6 points
Sam Lewis with 6 points
Katie Armstrong with 2 points and 7 boards

Rubino, Martin, Brown and Nibbelink getting minutes

[FU73]

Stags 50-66 and shot 31% FG 17/55

Marist 8/24 from outside and 4 Marist players with double figures

Callie Cavanaugh with 16 points
Lou Lopez-Senechal with 11 points
Rachael Hakes with 7 points and 9 assists

A tough shooting game when the shots wouldn't fall for Katie Armstrong 1/11 FG and 0/4 from outside but 8 boards and 2 blocks.

Box Score
fairfieldstags.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2020-21/marist/boxscore/10514

"Not only as a basketball coach but as a human being, in our daily lives we can complain about a lot of things but we have so much to be grateful for," Head Coach Joe Frager said. "Like I told the team in the locker room I'm super proud that they supported each other through all this. I'm really proud with how they bonded and got themselves through this."

"I'd like to congratulate Brian (Giorgis) and his staff," Fairfield head coach Joe Frager said. "Throughout the season, they proved that they deserved to be the number one seed. I wish them all the best moving forward."

Stags' season ends at (11-5)(9-3) and the second year in a row getting to the Semifinal Round.

Marist advances to the MAAC Championship game

[FU73]

"It was a great team effort," head coach Brian Giorgis said to the ESPN crew of Tiffany Greene and Steffi Sorenson postgame. "They're a very hard team to defend. They have so many sets and so many options off the sets. … We knew exactly what they were doing most of the time."

"We attacked their zone well, made some shots, got a lead, and kept it." Giorgis credited associate head coach Erin Doughty for her job with the Fairfield scouting report.

"Our biggest focus this game was to take it one play at a time," Duffell said in her postgame on-air interview. "Valuing the ball for each possession was the key to our success today."

"We've been working hard all season," Kennedy said in the postgame press conference. "It feels amazing that we've been so resilient and that we've been able to get to where we need."

Marist will play for its 11th MAAC championship on Saturday at 11 a.m. The game will be televised on ESPNEWS. The Red Foxes will face the winner of Friday afternoon's semifinal between third-seeded Saint Peter's and seventh-seeded Rider.

[FU73]

Fairfield ends season with loss to top-seeded Marist in the MAAC Tournament semifinals

Before Thursday, the Stags hadn’t played a game since Feb. 22 and had practiced with 10 players for the first time the week before after weeks of not having enough for scrimmages. Additionally, they didn’t play at full strength as some continued to get better from their experience with the virus.

“We were dealt like a heck of a bad hand,” Fairfield junior guard Rachel Hakes said. “We’re gonna take this (season) away with us for the rest of our lives and we’re gonna look back at this year and we’re gonna laugh at some point and be like, ‘We really did those things in order to play a basketball season,’ so you do have to look back at it with a little bit of a smile.”

“It’s been such an unusual experience for everybody,” Fairfield coach Joe Frager said. “We’ve been through a lot of loss in terms of being able to practice more and being able to play games, but we also gained something through all of this. I think that you gain an appreciation for every day you’re together as a team. This group just really bonded and really supported themselves, each other, through all of this. That’s probably the main reason I’m very proud of these guys. They have nothing to hang their heads about. They had an excellent season. We didn’t quite reach the end zone like we wanted to but they have a lot to be proud of.”

Friday’s game marked the final time in a Stags jersey for seniors Eden Nibbelink, Meagan Morelli, Molly Bauer and graduate students Katie Armstrong and Lewis.

Heading into 2022, Fairfield returns four starters in juniors Lou Lopez-Senechal, Cavanaugh, Hakes and Andrea Hernangomez. The Stags lose Armstrong, who was the team’s leading rebounder the past two seasons, including 7.0 per game this year.

Read more:
www.stamfordadvocate.com/sports/article/Fairfield-ends-season-with-loss-to-top-seeded-16022045.php?src=sthpsports

[sobro]

Isn't it possible that some of this year's seniors may return next year, due to the COVID rules implemented by the NCAA?

[stags74]

The return of seniors next year is certainly allowed of the men. I would assume the same of the women. If the coach wants the seniors back and the school can afford the extra scholarships the seniors can return.
However, I am not sure if the same rule applies to graduate students who were in their first year of graduate studies this season .