Box Score
Albany, NY - The Fairfield University women's basketball team did not allow sixth-seeded Siena College to score a point in overtime to earn a 61-56 win in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Citizens Bank Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Basketball Championship at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. The Stags improve to 18-12 with the win and advance to the semifinals, to face second-seeded Canisius, at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Baendu Lowenthal kept her collegiate career alive, tying the game 55-55 with a spinning lay-up with three seconds to play in regulation to force overtime. The senior then scored the first three-points of the extra period to finish with 18 points in the victory. Taryn Johnson hit 3-4 from the line in the final two seconds to seal the win.
Fairfield led by as many as 16 points in the first-half, when Lauren Groom drained a three-pointer with 5:12 to play in the period. However that would be the last points for the Stags in the half, as Siena closed to within 34-29 at the intermission.
The Saints would take their first lead of the game on a Serena Moore basket, 44-43, with 9:07 to play. Stephanie Geehan who tallied 12 points in the game, responded on the next possession with a basket in the paint to put the Stags back ahead. That hoop began a 5-0 run that gave Fairfield a 48-44 lead with 8:04 to play.
Fairfield maintained the lead until Allie Lindemann drained a three-pointer with 99 seconds to play, to give Siena a 53-52 lead. Desiree Pina hit 1-3 at the line with 1:14 to play for the second tie of the game, 53-53. Moore hit a spinning jumper in the paint with 11 seconds to play, giving Siena its final lead of the game and setting up Lowenthal's heroics.
Geehan added seven blocked shots in the game, giving her 91 for the season, one shy of the school's single-season mark. She and Lowenthal both hauled in a team-high eight rebounds in the game. Pina finished in double figures as well, with 12 points.
Johnson had all three of her points at the line in the final seconds of overtime. She also had five rebounds and two steals, the second coming with 67 seconds left in overtime and the Stags holding onto a 58-55 advantage.
The game marked the fifth consecutive time that the two teams met in the opening game of the MAAC Championship, with Fairfield improving to 4-1 in those games.
Megan Caskin played the entire 45 minutes, dishing out eight assists, with six boards, four points and two steals. Fairfield had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio as a team, with 16 assists and 14 turnovers. The team recorded 10 steals.
Siena became only the second MAAC team to out rebound the Stags this season, winning the battle of the boards, 46-19. Heather Stec led all players with a double-double, 16 rebounds and 18 points. Moore also finished in double figures with 16 points, and corralling eight rebounds.
The Stags split the season series with Canisius, with each team winning on the road this season. Fans can listen to the game on the Fairfield radio station, WVOF 88.5 FM and on-line at www.FairfieldStags.com. The game will also be televised live on the MSG Network.