Stags Close Out Alumni Hall with Victory over Monmouth

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After nearly 50 years of being the home for the Fairfield University Women's Basketball program, the old historic building known as Alumni Hall could have seen it's final basketball game on Sunday afternoon. The building that has now seen 291 Fairfield victories, countless talented athletes, and two 'final games' was closed out with a 60-46 Fairfield win over Monmouth.

"As of right now it is the last game at Alumni Hall," Head Coach Joe Frager, who has won 102 career games inside the building said. "We said, 'we're not ending on a loss here, we're just not going to let that happen.'"

The win is also scheduled to be the end of a unique and challenging regular season of the unforgettable 2020-21 campaign. Fairfield sits with nine wins in the MAAC which places the Stags in a tie for Manhattan for the third seed in the MAAC Championships.

Just like yesterday, the Stags did not trail in the contest and held a comfortable lead for the majority of the game, reaching their advantage to as many as 25 in the second half.

Most of the offensive success for the Stags came in the first half as Fairfield shot 50 percent (16-for-32) from the field.

The Stags jumped out to a 13-2 lead after an 8-0 run in the first quarter. Four of Fairfield's five starters scored during that stretch with Callie Cavanaugh leading the group with four. Cavanaugh had her best game as a Stag as she recorded her first double-double as a Stag with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

"I thought Callie responded extremely well," Coach Frager said. "Callie is a talented kid but I think sometimes she's tough on herself. It's good that she got off to a good start in the game yesterday and built some momentum up and she carried that into today and played really well. I'm happy that she's much more aggressive on the boards, that's a big part of her game."

Fairfield would go on another extended run to close out the first half as they scored the final 10 points. Once again, four Fairfield starters contributed to that stretch as the Stags would go into halftime leading 38-15.

The Hawks would make a mini run in the fourth quarter as they cut the Fairfield lead to just 12. Lou Lopez-Senechal would answer right back as she connected on two of her four 3-pointers in the final 2:33 of the game to keep the Stags with breathing room.

Lopez-Senechal would finish with a game-high 23 points, the sixth time in 14 games this season that she has reached 20 points. She would go 9-for-19 from the floor and 4-for-9 from long range.

Cavanaugh was the only other Stag to reach double figures with her season-high 13 points.

The passing attack from the Stags came both inside and outside. Andrea Hernangomez crushed her previous career-high as she dished out seven assists, besting her previous personal best by four. Rachel Hakes matched her assist total as the guard dished out seven as well.

Hernangomez had a well-rounded game also finishing with six points and six rebounds.

The Stags are currently tied with Manhattan for the number three seed in the MAAC Championships which will be held March 8-13 in Atlantic City, N.J. The Stags still could have a game added to their schedule as they still are yet to play Niagara and Manhatta