Fairfield, CT - Stephanie Geehan scored a game-high 24 points and Desiree Pina handed out a career-high six assists as the Fairfield University women’s basketball team defeated visiting Towson University, 69-55, at Alumni Hall on Thursday evening in the opening round of the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational. The fifth-seeded Stags, who win their first postseason game, improve to 20-13, while the fourth-seeded Tigers fall to 15-16.
Towson won the opening tip and scored four seconds into the game on a Shanae Baker-Brice basket, but the Stags scored seven straight points, to take a 7-6 lead. The Tigers responded with and 8-2 run of their own, retaking the lead 10-9 with 14:08 to play in the first-half. Geehan made a jumper in the paint 23 seconds later, for an 11-10 Fairfield lead, and the Stags would not trail the remainder of the game. That basket sparked a 9-0 Fairfield run to build an 18-10 lead with 23-14 remaining in the first-half. The Stags continued the run, leading by as many as 11 points (32-21; 2:23) and took a 34-24 advantage into the locker room.
Geehan hit a three-pointer on the Stags opening possession of the second-half, for a 37-24 (19:03) edge, but the Tigers rallied from there. Towson would score nine of the next 11 points, to close within six points, 39-33, with 15:28 remaining, but the Stags would not allow them to get any closer. Geehan hit a pair of free throws with 5:26 to play, making the score 56-45 and the advantage would not fall into single-digits again. The Stags largest lead of the game came on the free throws from Pina with 68 seconds to play, 17, with the final margin 69-52.
Fairfield knocked down 8-8 from the free throw in the final 1:46 of play and hit 21-27 for the game, 77.8 percent. The Stags were good on 47.7 percent of its field goal attempts, and hit 6-9 from behind the arc.
Geehan had her 20th double-double of the season, with 24 points and 10 rebounds, all on the defensive side of the floor. She hit a career-best four three pointers, 4-4, and was a perfect 6-6 from the stripe. Geehan also had five blocked shots in the game.
Pina hit 6-8 from the stripe for 14 points, to go along with her six assists. Taryn Johnson scored 11 points and had seven rebounds, with three steals, while Katelyn Linney hit a pair of three-pointers for 10 points. Joelle Nawrocki came off the bench to add seven points, while Tara Flaherty had three points and three rebounds.
Towson had only one player in double-figures, Katrina Wheeler, who finished with 10 points and seven boards. The Tigers shot 31.3 percent from the field, 5-18 from behind the arc, and 8-16 from the free throw line. Towson did out rebounded Fairfield, 43-33 for the game, with a 24-9 edge on the offensive glass that resulted in a 17-12 advantage in second chance points.
The Stags advance to face the top-seed, Appalachian State, in the East Region, in the quarterfinals of the WBI on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Boone, N.C. The Mountaineers defeated #8 Charleston Southern, 62-47, on the road on Thursday night.