With just under seven minutes left on the clock, sophomore roadrunner Meghan Andersen caught a pass on the right wing and put up a three point attempt. The ball landed just inside the left rim, spun halfway down and somehow snuck its way back up and out of the basket.
That shot, and the accompanying groan from the Fairfield faithful in the stands of Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, told the story of the Stags’ strenuous and oftentimes frustrating 49-48 win over Mount St. Mary’s in the conference tournament semifinals on Friday.
“We knew we had our hands full with that team,” said head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis, “and while our offense seemed to be left at the hotel, I do believe that our defense came with us, so I’m proud of that.”
After a rough offensive outing on Wednesday saw the Stags put up just 58 points in their win over Manhattan, their lowest total in conference play all year to that point, things only became more difficult against the Mountaineers.
A normally capable and steady three point shooting team, the Stags got a number of open looks from long range against the zone defense of the Mountaineers, but connected on just three of 25 attempts, their worst percentage (12) of the entire season. All three makes came within the first 11 minutes of the game.
“Of our 25 threes that we took, I would say probably 18 of them were really good shots that I would take again,” Thibault-DuDonis said. “I’m not gonna tell anybody not to shoot.”
Fortunately for the Stags, they were able to once again rely on a stifling defensive performance to weather the storm. After successfully attacking the paint in the first quarter to the tune of a 64 percent shooting performance, the Mountaineers were held to just nine points across the entire second and third quarters combined.
That included a nearly 10 minute drought beginning at the 6:43 mark in the second, during which the Stags put together a 10-0 run in spite of their own offensive inconsistencies.
“We talk about forcing tough twos, and twos over wall ups, twos over hands, and not by you,” Thibault-DuDonis said, “and I thought they made a bunch of them in the first quarter… but I thought we really made it hard to do that over and over again, because we just didn’t give them an inch.”
Still, what likely should have been a 15 or 20 point lead heading into the fourth quarter for the Stags was instead only 11, as their offense failed to take full advantage of the defensive shutdown in the middle chunk of the game. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, took their second lease on life and ran with it.
Forcing a number of Stags turnovers with a full court press and finally seeing some of their own shots go down, the Mountaineers dominated the fourth quarter with a 17-5 run, punctuated by a go-ahead three pointer from Anna LeMaster with 29 seconds remaining.
“The wheels started to fall off just a little bit, but our coaches stayed so confident that we were still in that game and at no point did I ever feel like anyone’s energy was wavering or our trust in ourselves was wavering,” said Mountaineers guard Jo Raflo. “Our coaches truly believed we were in that game the entire time, and that gave us the belief to go out there and make the run at the end that we did.”
On the ensuing Fairfield possession, it was sophomore guard Kaety L’Amoreaux who played the hero, connecting on a reverse layup with 13 seconds remaining to reclaim the lead for the Stags. Seconds later, she came up with a clutch steal on the other end of the floor, and free throws from her and Andersen put the finishing touches on another scrappy win.
“[This win] shows how gritty we are, and we have so many people that are willing to step up,” L’Amoreaux said. “If shots aren’t falling, we’re gonna get it done on the defensive end and find other ways to do it on offense.”
Now back in the conference championship game for a second straight year, the Stags find themselves staring down the barrel of a rematch with number two seed Quinnipiac. Just a week ago, the Bobcats put an end to Fairfield’s 42-game winning streak in conference play with a 72-65 win.
While the road to the third meeting this year between the two teams has been challenging for the Stags, the Bobcats have largely cruised through the tournament to this point, winning both their games by double digits.
But as they’ve displayed this week, the Stags have gotten quite good at one key thing over the last two years of unprecedented success: finding ways to win.
“I always have confidence in my team,” Andersen said. “I know we’re gonna work hard, we’re gonna get shots open, and we’re gonna do our best.”
Now, just 40 minutes separate the Stags from back-to-back conference titles and a chance for redemption in the NCAA Tournament.
Tip-off for the MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship Game is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN+.
