FAIRFIELD, CT – Siena Women's Basketball had seen it before; a double-digit deficit at the half against Fairfield on the road. For the second straight year, the Saints (6-7, 3-3) staged a furious second half comeback against the Stags (14-1, 6-0) on their home court, taking an 18-point halftime hole down to two before ultimately falling, 78-73, at Leo D. Mahoney Arena in Fairfield, Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.

Facing off against a Stags squad who received two votes in the latest Associated Press National Top-25 Poll, who entered the day on an 11-game win streak, and who came in as the final undefeated team in MAAC play, the Green and Gold nearly replicated a 13-point come-from-behind win from last season at Fairfield.

The visitors hopped out to a quick 7-2 advantage but Fairfield mustered up a 10-1 run midway through the first quarter. The Saints closed out the opening period with a pair of free throws to limit the Fairfield lead to six – 22-16 – and hit a pair of buckets to begin the second quarter. The Stags ultimately ended the first half on a 22-7 run over the final eight minutes to bring a daunting 18-point lead, 47-29, into the half.

Facing its largest deficit in conference play so far this year, Siena saw sophomore Teresa Seppala begin to lead the team back to begin the second half, with the sophomore recording the first eight points of the quarter to put the Saints within ten. Led by the MAAC's leading scorer in true freshman Meghan Andersen, the Stags answered back with an 8-0 run to go back up – 55-37 – with 6:17 remaining in the third. Seppala and junior Anajah Brown accounted for 17 of Siena's 22 points in the third quarter while freshman Ciany Conyers hit a three with 55 seconds remaining to keep the team within seven entering the final period.

Siena got buckets from three different Saints to open the fourth quarter, but continued to trade shots with the Stags leading to an Andersen three the got the home team back up by ten with just under seven minutes to play. A jumper from senior Ahniysha Jackson, a free throw from Brown, and jumper from freshman Alden Yergey, and a second chance three from Seppala made it a 71-69 game in favor of Fairfield with 2:28 to play.

The Saints found themselves within a pair once more in the final minutes of the game, and had the ball down three with under 30 seconds to play, but could not withstand seven free throws from Fairfield senior Janelle Brown that ultimately sealed the deal for the Stags' 12^th straight victory.

Seppala four three's and eight shots from the field led to a season-best 22 points, while Brown got back in double-figures for the first time in ten games with a monster 18-point, 14-rebounds performance that signaled a season high in points and tied a career-best in boards. Siena got points from eight different players for the fourth time this season, and fell despite out-shooting the Stags with 44.4 percent from the field and holding a 44-34 rebound advantage.

Andersen led all scorers with 23 points, while Brown's eight free shots helped her go for 15, and transfer junior Kendall McGruber added 11 points. Siena transfer Emina Selimovic added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Fairfield finished 21-28 from the free throw line and matched the Saints with nine three-pointers.

Currently at 3-3 in league play. The Saints return home to continue a stretch of four of five contests at home from January 6 – 20, beginning against Rider on Thursday, January 18 at 7 PM. Join the Saints for their annual Gold Rush night, with the first 500 fans in attendance receiving a gold Siena rally towel. Click here for tickets.