Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield defeated Saint Peter's 57-46 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) women's basketball contest on Friday afternoon.
Sajanna Bethea (Levittown, Pa. / Pennsbury) paced the Peacocks (1-12, 1-4 MAAC) with 12 points. Alyssa Velles (Franklin, Conn. / Norwich Free Academy) finished with nine points, while Teresa Corchado (Willingboro, N.J. / Camden Catholic) and Hala Mostafa (Cairo, Egypt / Modern Narmer Language School) tallied six points apiece in the loss.
Casey Smith paced the Stags (4-10, 3-2 MAAC) with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Kristen Schatzlein finished with 11 points and Felicia DaCruz recorded 10 points in the win.
Fairfield opened up the first half with a layup at 18:45 to score the first points of the game. The Peacocks countered with a triple from Velles to take a 3-2 edge. The Stags regained the lead with a 6-0 run to lead 8-3 with 14:11 left in the half.
Saint Peter's stopped the run with a basket from Bethea at 13:49 to cut into the margin. Fairfield countered with three consecutive points to extend its lead, 11-5. Following the media timeout at 11:44, Corchado knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to trim the deficit.
Trailing 18-11 with 9:10 left in the first half, the Peacocks cut into the margin with a traditional 3-point play from Bethea to get within two field goals. Fairfield extended its lead with back-to-back triples to go up 24-14.
The Peacocks responded, scoring nine unanswered points, capped off by another triple from Corchado to trail 26-23 with 1:26 left in the half. Fairfield stopped the drought with a layup from Smith at 1:04 to take a 28-23 advantage heading into the locker room.
Fairfield opened up the second half with five straight points to extend its lead to double-figures. The Peacocks countered with a 5-0 run, capped off by triple from Velles at 17:13 to cut the deficit to single digits.
The Stags extended their lead with a 12-2 run, fueled by six points from DaCruz to lead 45-30 with 10:19 left in the game.
Saint Peter's hung around, cutting the lead to single digits with a pair of free throws from Rebecca Sparks (Teaneck, N.J. / Teaneck [Saint Francis]) at the 3:50 mark to trail 50-41. Fairfield was able to outlast the Peacock comeback for the 57-46 victory.
Bridget Whitfield (San Diego, Calif. / La Costa Canyon) tallied five points, while Talah Hughes (Beacon, N.Y. / Beacon) and Sparks recorded four points each. Samantha Meier (Manalapan, N.J. / Manalapan) tallied a team-high six rebounds.
Coming into the game shooting 22.4-percent from the three-point line, Saint Peter's shot a season-best 42.9-percent, making a season-high six 3-pointers.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Jan. 11, when the team travels up to New Rochelle for an afternoon contest against Iona. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
