FAIRFIELD, Conn. (January 26, 2023) – Mount St. Mary's gave everything they had in a fourth quarter comeback against the Fairfield Stags. With the team looking for a win, Michaela Harrison was fouled shooting a baseline three. However, the bench, thinking the game was over and expressing frustration, drew a technical. That allowed Izabela Nicoletti-Leite to win the game for Fairfield, walking off on two made free throws in a 54-53 final.
 
The Mount drops to 9-10 (4-6 MAAC). Harrison was the leading scorer with 17 points, followed by Natalie Villaflor with 11 and Aryna Taylor with 10. Isabella Hunt supplied 10 points and three assists.
 
Both teams started cool out of the gate, with the Mount scoring its first basket two minutes in and Fairfield a minute later. Fighting to a 7-7 deadlock by the first media, the Stags were the first team to compile a run, scoring nine straight before the Mountaineers could answer. The home side held an advantage between seven and 10 points until the last two minutes of the half. A pair of drives and a pull-up jumper in that span cut the visitors' deficit to one at the break.
 
Mount St. Mary's held the upper hand during the first part of the third quarter. Harrison delivered a clutch trey and some free throws to help put the Mount up 38-35. But Fairfield turned it around with a 13-0 run to end the period. Kate Peek became a three-point thorn in the Mount's side, striking for three in the quarter.
 
Beginning with Villaflor, the Mountaineers fought from 10 down to tie. The graduate student knocked down the first six points of the period, divvied up between a made foul shot, a three pointer and a layup. Defense put the clamps down, allowing a lone jumper from Callie Cavanaugh for the first nine minutes of the game. Harrison hit a key bucket down the stretch while Hunt and Jessica Tomasetti delivered key foul shots down the stretch.
 
All was level at 50-50 heading into the final minute. Capitalizing on a second chance, Fairfield's Janelle Brown proved her clutch ability once again with a jumper at the 16 second mark. Mount St. Mary's called a timeout to set up a play where Harrison would shoot from the corner. Contact forced the shot to fall short and the far official raised her arm to indicate the foul. But before the bench saw the infraction called, the bench drew the ire of the near official, who signaled the technical foul. Harrison received three foul shots and sank them, then Nicoletti-Leite hit the technical shots. Fairfield inbounded the ball with 0.4 on the clock and the Mount was unable to record a foul in time.
 
The Mount women kick off Winter Homecoming games with a 2 p.m. tilt against Niagara Saturday (Jan. 28).