FAIRFIELD, Connecticut - Senior captain Rebekah Hand scored 18 points, but Marist was stymied in the second half as Fairfield came way with the 52-48 win on Thursday evening at Alumni Hall.

Marist sustains its second conference loss of the year and moves to 7-2 conference play, as well as 14-4 overall. Fairfield also jumps to 7-2 in the MAAC to leap the Red Foxes for second place, and is now 10-8 overall.

The Red Foxes led by as much as 15 in the second half, but the Stags went on an extended 17-3 run over 7:14 to make it a 28-27 Marist lead at the half.

In the third quarter, Fairfield took its first lead at the 2:05 mark when Andrea Hernangomez hit a layup and drew a foul, giving the Stags a 35-34 advantage. Fairfield's defense limited Marist to without a field goal in the fourth quarter until there was 2:23 to play. The Red Foxes got to within 49-47 with 1:05 left, but the Stags held on the rest of the way.

Lou Lopez-Senechal and Sam Kramer each had 15 points to pace Fairfield.
 

SUMMARY

• After the Stags sported an early 6-4 lead, Marist closed the final 6:20 of the first quarter on a 17-4 run to lead 21-8.
• Rebekah Hand hit the 600^th field goal of her career with 19 seconds to play in the frame, and Gilmer knocked down a jumper just before the buzzer.
• Redshirt senior captain Grace Vander Weide's layup gave Marist its largest lead of the game at 15 with 7:14 remaining in the second.
• Both teams proceed to struggle making shots from the field, but Vander Weide then drilled a straightaway triple with 3:44 left to make it 28-17.
• Both teams were silent for the first 1:22 of the third until Rebekah Hand cashed in on a left-block layup, giving her 10 points in the contest.
• Marist and Fairfield went scoreless for at least three minutes at different portions of the third.
• With 20 seconds left, Rebekah Hand nailed a right-wing three, but Kramer responded with a layup just one second before the buzzer, staking Fairfield to a 39-38 edge heading into the fourth.
• The Red Foxes suffered a scoring drought of 6:42 in the fourth. That ended with an 8-0 run where Rebekah Hand, sophomore guard Kendall Krick, and redshirt senior captain Alana Gilmer converted on baskets.
• Hernangomez's 18-foot jumper with 38 seconds left hit off the rim and the backboard before falling in, making it 51-47 Stags.

 

STATS

• Gilmer and Vander Weide each led the team with eight rebounds. The latter also posted five assists.
• Despite a conference-low 14 assists, Marist still assisted on 66 percent of its scores.
• The Red Foxes recorded just nine turnovers, tied for second-fewest in a game this season.
• Fairfield had the edge in rebounding, 40-34.

 

NOTES

• Rebekah Hand becomes the third Red Fox in program history to reach 600 career field goals, joining Rachele Fitz and Ursula Winter. She now has 604 in her Marist tenure, two shy of Winter.
• She also grabbed her 700^th career rebound in the second quarter.
• The decision snaps a four-game winning streak for Marist against Fairfield.
• Thursday also broke a five-game conference road winning streak for the Red and White.

 

UP NEXT

• Marist heads home to Poughkeepsie to play Niagara on Saturday, February 1 at 7 p.m.
• Tickets are on sale at MaristTickets.com.