Women's Basketball

Fairfield and Niagara Score Wins in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship Presented by Showboat

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 13, 2024) – The 2024 Hercules Tires Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Basketball Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall continued on Wednesday afternoon with the first pair of quarterfinal round contests. The top-two seeds survived and moved into Saturday’s semifinals with No. 1 Fairfield University and No. 2 Niagara University earning wins on the day.
 
No. 1 Fairfield – 57 | No. 8 Rider – 51
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
No. 25 Fairfield continued its winning ways, edging Rider 57-51 in the quarterfinals. The Stags have now won 27 consecutive games on the seasons. After a Rider three tied the contest at 40-40 in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Stags ran off 10 straight points to take a double digit lead that would prove to be too much for the Broncs to overcome.
 
Fairfield Notes and Notables
  • The trio of Kaety L’Amoreaux, Janelle Brown, and Meghan Andersen, combined to score 45 of the team’s 57 points.
  • L’Amoreaux recorded a game-high 19 points, and pulled in seven rebounds.
  • Brown totaled 16 points and dished out a team-high four assists and recorded three steals.
  • Andersen had a total of 10 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.   
  • Fairfield won the battle of the boards over Rider, 36-28, and dominated points in the paint 30-18.  
  • The Stags led for the majority of the meeting, holding the lead for 33:30.
  • With the win the Stags improve their overall record to 29-1, the second-best mark in the country.
  • The team’s 27th-straight win also tied the conference record for consecutive wins.
  • Fairfield advances to the semifinals for the second time in the past three years and will take on the winner of No. 4 Manhattan/No. 5 Canisius on Friday, March 15 at 11:00 a.m.
Rider Notes and Notables
  • Taylor Langan led Rider with a team-high 12 points.
  • Jessika Schiffer added 11 points.
  • The Broncs shot 41.9 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc.
No. 2 Niagara – 70 | No. 7 Quinnipiac – 56
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
In the second quarterfinal matchup of the day, Niagara used a stingy defense to spearhead a 70-56 blowout win over Quinnipiac. The Purple Eagles never trailed by more than a possession in the game, holding the lead for over 35 minutes and outscoring the Bobcats in all four quarters.
 
Niagara Notes and Notables
  • Nine total Purple Eagles scored a point, led by a game-high 20 from Amelia Strong.
  • Two other Niagara players also scored in double figures to join Strong, with Ary Hicks adding 14 points and five assists, while Aaliyah Parker scored 12 points.
  • Saige Glover collected 13 rebounds, with three coming on the offensive glass.
  • The Purple Eagles defense forced the Bobcats into 35 turnovers, which included 16 steals, converting them into 31 points and 26 fast break points.
  • Niagara scored more than half of their points in the paint, recording 44 inside of the perimeter.
  • For Niagara, it’s the team’s third straight trip into the league’s final four, where they will meet the winner of No. 3 Siena/No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s on at 1:00 p.m.
Quinnipiac Notes and Notables
  • The Bobcats had a trio of double-figure scorers on the afternoon.
  • Leading the way was Karson Martin with a team-best 15 points and four assists.
  • Ella O’Donnell logged a double-double of 12 points, 13 rebounds, and added three blocks.
  • Grace LaBarge was the final Bobcat in double digits adding 11 points.
For all information regarding the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on Twitter.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.