Boone, NC - The Fairfield University women's basketball team fell 59-36 at Appalachian State University in the quarterfinals of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C. The loss ends the season for the Stags at 20-14, while the Mountaineers improve to 21-12.
Appalachian State jumped out to an 8-2 lead 5:18 into the game. Stepanie Geehan started the Stags comeback with a three-pointer at the 14:11 mark. It would be the beginning of a 14-4 run, that ended with the Stags taking a 16-12 lead with 8:08 to play in the half. Appalachian State finished the half on a 14-2 run taking a 26-18 lead into halftime.
The Stags did not score over the first 4:30 of the second-half, while the Mountaineers scored eight, to take a 34-18 advantage. The Mountaineers were up 51-26 when Lauren Tucker knocked down a three-pointer with 7:40 to play in the game. Tara Flaherty scored 25 seconds later to get the Stags to 51-31, but they would get no closer.
Flaherty led the Stags with 12 points, equaling her season-high, as well as recording a career-best six steals. Taryn Johnson had five points and three blocked shots, while handing out two assists. Desiree Pina had two points, five steals and three assists.
Geehan finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, her 21st double-double of the season. The senior blocked four shots on the day, finishing her career with 287, tops in MAAC and school history. She also ends up 1,112 points and 1052 rebounds, the fourth player in program history to eclipse 1,000 in both categories. Geehan finished the season with 390 rebounds, the single-season school record in that category.
The Stags finished the season with 20 wins for the second time in the three-year tenure of Joe Frager and the eighth time in the program's history. The Stags win over Towson, 69-55, on Thursday marked the program's first-ever national postseason tournament victory. Fairfield finished third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament for the first time since 2001.