Fairfield sophomore roadrunner Meghan Andersen slowly climbed up the ladder to the net. Her face was parallel with the rim. She grabbed a pair of orange scissors, and without much fanfare, cut off a piece of net for the fourth time in her Fairfield career.
Andersen doesn’t like to say much. She’s from the Duncanian school of basketball players. She’s very personable, but soft-spoken and humble when you talk to her. When asked about her own performance, she refers back to her team. She’s not one to ramble when asked a question. Her actions are loud enough.
And boy have they deafened over her two seasons as a Stag — two All-MAAC First Team nominations, a MAAC Rookie of the Year award and now, best of all, two MAAC Tournament championships in her trophy case. She was tournament MVP too.
Her rise as one of the MAAC’s best players coincides with Fairfield’s rise as the MAAC’s best program. The Stags left no question unanswered about that when they beat Quinnipiac 76-53 Saturday afternoon to clinch back-to-back titles.
“We’re trying to build one of the best women’s basketball programs in the country,” Fairfield head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis told reporters postgame.
Andersen is at the forefront of that goal.
Every once in a while, the calm Andersen shows a peak of the lion within her. Here, for example, she drained a 3 on the right wing, then let out a definitive roar to cap off a 7-0 Fairfield run in the second quarter.
That mixture of calmness and aggression, along with fundamentally sound basketball makes her a headache to guard. Quinnipiac senior guard Jackie Grisdale had that tough task, and Andersen ate her up. She dropped 27 on 66% shooting from the field.
Her dominance was the catalyst for the Stags’ third MAAC championship in four years, and back-to-back crowns under Thibault-DuDonis.
Yet at times, there were questions of whether Fairfield could do it again.
A shaky, yet successful MAAC Tournament
It was so predictable, yet at times so doubtful that Fairfield would repeat this year. It was unanimously selected as the No. 1 team in the MAAC preseason poll and returned the majority of its best players.
Yet, a shellacking at the hands of Richmond in its home opener and losses to St. John’s and Oklahoma State left doubt to its greatness.
Even more so was losing the reigning MAAC Player of the Year graduate guard Janelle Brown to a torn ACL against Villanova. Even then, sophomore guard Kaety L’Amoreaux fit right into Brown’s role.
Fairfield dominated MAAC play for 19 of 22 games, but its last three prior to today were as unstable as it gets.
First, a loss just a week ago to the Bobcats. Quinnipiac beat the Stags 72-65 after a 23-7 explosive first quarter. Then, the two MAAC Tournament games. Fairfield looked as shaky as it gets.
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A 58-51 win over Manhattan put some shiver in its timbers. The Jaspers defense dominated, and they led as late as with 1:44 left to play. But, the Stags pulled it out.
Against Mount St. Mary’s, Fairfield lost the lead with 29 seconds left to play. But, the Stags pulled it out again. L’Amoreaux had an acrobatic, game-winning layup.
The common theme amongst the two MAAC Tournament games was poor shooting. Fairfield shot an average of 35.2% from the field across the two games, and an abhorrent 19.5% from 3. It should’ve been eliminated, but it wasn’t.
The Stags made it to Saturday, where they shot 49.1% from the field and 51.7% from 3 against Quinnipiac. Junior guard Sydni Scott was a perfect 6-6 from beyond the arc.
Scott, sophomore guard Jillian Huerter and graduate forward Raiana Brown all transferred into Fairfield from different programs. Their decisions paid off 10-fold, and for Scott, it was love at first tour.
“I committed literally on the same day I visited,” Scott told reporters postgame. “This is home, I just love Stag nation.”
Thibault-DuDonis has something special in Fairfield. Amid rumors that she may jump to a bigger program, the Stags head coach has stayed steadfast in continuing to build up Fairfield.
The program’s “STAG” principles — Selfless, Tough, Accountable and Grateful — are evident in each one of the players.
Four players — Raiana Brown, senior roadrunner Emina Selimovic, senior guard Kendall McGruder and graduate guard Izabela Nicoletti Leite — that played pivotal roles to the team this year are graduating.
So the Stags will have to load up again this offseason. But for now, Fairfield awaits to find out who it’ll play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It’s motivated by its 33-point loss last year to Indiana, something Thibault-DuDonis told reporters is a constant reminder of how far it has to go in the program.
So for now, Fairfield will wait, aiming to win in the NCAA Tournament and keep its season alive.
“Our captain Iza [Nicoletti Leite] at the beginning of the game was like ‘this could be our seniors’ last game,’” L’Amoreaux told reporters postgame. “I want to keep the season going as long as possible.”
“We know we’re not done yet,” Thibault-DuDonis said.
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