Albany, NY - Fairfield shot 58.1 percent from the field in the first-half on its way to defeating sixth-seeded Loyola University Maryland, 70-56, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Citizens Bank MAAC Championship Friday at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
The Stags advance to the MAAC Tournament semifinal for the third time in as many years under head coach Joe Frager. Fairfield will take on second-seeded Iona in the 9:30 a.m. semifinal, which will be televised live on the MSG Network.
The Stags, the third-seed in the tournament, won their eighth straight game to improve to 18-12 on the year, while the Greyhounds finished the season at 14-16.
Fairfield led 44-22 at the intermission but saw that lead cut to 10 points, 47-37, just under seven minutes into the second period. Fairfield scored only three points, a conventional three-point play from Desiree Pina, during that Loyola run. Stephanie Geehan scored the Stags next seven point, keeping the margin in double-digits. A basket from Taryn Johnson with 8:57 remaining put the advantage back to 15 points, 56-41, but the Greyhounds would come on again.
Loyola scored eight of the next 10 points in the game, to get the deficit to single digits, 58-49 (4:27) for the first time since the Stags lead was 21-13 with 10:12 to play in the first-half. Pina scored two possessions later, making the lead 60-59, but Miriam McKenzie answered 15 seconds later to get the margin back to nine points. Katelyn Linney knocked down a three-pointer on Fairfield's next possession to make the lead 63-51, with 3:08 to play, to give Fairfield the double-digit advantage once again. The Stags hit 7-8 from the free throw line in the final 2:06 to seal the win.
Geehan finished scored 22 points in the game, to go along with 16 rebounds, both game-highs as she recorded her 19th double-double of the season. Her first rebound of the contest gave her 1,000 for her career, only the fourth Stag in history to reach 1,000 rebounds and score 1,000 points. Geehan also blocked four shots, recorded four steals and had two assists in the victory.
The Stags, who shot 48.1 percent for the game, had three other players in double-figures. Pina finished with 17 points, including 7-8 from the free throw line, as well as four assists. Tara Flaherty, who shot 6-7 from the floor, had a season-high equaling 12 points, while Linney also finished with 12, hitting 4-4 from the stripe.
Fairfield finished with a 43-29 advantage in rebounds, but on the offensive end was out rebounded by one, 9-8. Despite that deficit the Stags had a 15-6 edge in second chance points in the game.
Loyola received a 20-point effort from McKenzie, who also handed out a team-high three assists. Katie Sheahin was the only other player in double-figures, scoring 14 points on 5-8 shooting.
The Stags trailed only once in the contest, 3-2, 2:26 into the game, from which point they rattled off nine straight points to open an 11-3 advantage. The Greyhounds got back within two points, 11-9, and trailed by just three points, 14-11 with 12:07 remaining in the period. The Stags went on a 16-3 run at that point, with four players contributing at least two points in the run. Flaherty was perfect from the floor in the first-half, 6-6, including six straight points in the early going.