Jan. 29, 2009
Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Fairfield broke an 8-8 tie with a 19-0 run in 3 ½ minutes and never looked back as they defeated Siena 73-47 Thursday evening at Alumni Hall. The Stags outplayed the Saints in every phase of the game, moving into second place in the league standings. Lauren Groom led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
Fairfield (13-8, 8-2) pulled away from Siena (7-12, 6-4) with a 19-0 run starting at 11:46 of the first half. For the next 3 ½ minutes the Stags couldn't miss and Siena turned it over on four consecutive possessions. Heather Stec ended the run with a little jumper to make it 27-10 with 7:53 left.
Groom fueled the Fairfield offense in the first half as she scored 14 points on 6-of-8 from the field.
Fairfield went into halftime with a comfortable 36-20 lead. They shot 45.5% (15-33) from the field and a sizzling 66.7% (6-9) from 3. The Saints did keep the reigning MAAC Player of the Week Baendu Lowenthal in check with two points and two fouls at the half.
The second half was the same story as Fairfield hit their shots and Siena didn't. The Stags shot 45.2% from the field and 53.3% (season-high against Siena) from 3 in the game. Siena shot 32.1% from the field and 26.7% from 3.
The Saints did an effective job on Lowenthal who had two points through 29 minutes of the game. She finished with six points and six rebounds. The outside shooters were the problem. Fairfield scored 55 of their points outside the paint.
Siena's pressure defense worked better in the second half as they forced eight Fairfield turnovers. But it wasn't enough to get them back in the game.
Centeno showed some fight as she scored 10 points and had a steal in 87 seconds to cut the deficit to 25 with 3:20 remaining. She scored all of her 14 points in the second half. Serena Moore scored 13 points and had seven rebounds.
Siena had 10 assists and committed 19 turnovers in the game. Fairfield had 21 assists and 11 turnovers. The Stags outscored Siena 23-6 off turnovers.
Siena returns to action on Super Sunday when they host Manhattan at 1 p.m. The game kicks off a 4-game home stand.
