BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Canisius women's basketball wrapped up its two-game road swing with a 52-48 loss at Fairfield on Sunday afternoon. With the loss the Griffs drop to 8-11 overall and 3-7 in MAAC play, while Fairfield improves to 9-10 overall ad 4-6 in conference action.

For the second-straight contest against Fairfield, the game came down to the final minute, as the Griffs set up for a game-tying shot with under 15 seconds in the game, but a Lauren D'Hont shot missed the mark, and the Blue and Gold were unable to corral the rebound, as the squad dropped the contest.

Freshman Maria Welch led the team in scoring, hitting 4-of-8 from the field, including a pair of treys, scoring 12 points. Tamara Miskovic was solid once again solid for the Blue and Gold, notching eight points and five assists to go along with seven rebounds. Miskovic led the team in both rebounds and assists.

Fairfield had three players reach double-figures with Kristin Schatzlein scoring 14 points, to pace the squad. Kelsey Carey notched 13 points and Casey Smith scored 10 in the victory.

Both team shots fairly well, posting 40 percent or above for the game, with Fairifled notching a 41.3 percent mark (19-of-46) and Canisius shooting slightly lower at an even 40 percent (20-of-50).

Fairfield also bested the Griffs in the battle of the Glass, notching 33 boards to the Griffs 26. Both teams recorded 15 turnovers for the contest.

In the first quarter Fairfield used its inside presence to take a 20-11 lead at the conclusion of the frame. The Stags scored 10 of its 20 points in the paint, staking claim to the early lead.

In the second quarter the Griffs worked hard to chisel away at the advantage, as the squad went on an 8-4 run headed into the under five media timeout. Welch recorded four points, with Mungo and Porter also chipping in a bucket apiece to get the score to 24-19.

As the score got closer towards the tail end of the quarter, the Griffs offense went cold in the final 4:28, as the squad scored just one 3-pointer the rest of the way, and Fairfield took a 31-22 lead into halftime. 

The Stags held Canisius at bay for most of the third quarter before an inspired 8-0 run in the final 3:46 of the third quarter, cut the Stags lead to just one, 38-37, headed into the final quarter.

It didn't take long in the fourth to pull even, as Welch hit a trey with just over 6:30 to go in the game to make it 40-40. Saliah Serrette followed suit minutes later as she drilled a long-range jumper to make it 43-42 with 4:29 left in the contest, to give the Griffs their first lead.

Following the Serrette trey, Fairfield went on a 7-0 run to retake the advantage, sparked by a Lizzy Ball trey with 1:20 left to go in the frame.

Just when it looked like the Griffs were going to fade away, back-to-back buckets by D'Hont and Miskovic brought the Griffs to within one, with 34.0 seconds remaining in the game.

A Lizzy Ball free throw make, gave Fairfield a 50-48 lead with 23.6 seconds remaining in the game which alotted Canisius one final possession to try and tie the game up. With less than 11 seconds on the clock, the Griff offense worked the ball around to a open D'Hont who lofted the game-tying field goal, but it fell short and Fairfield came up with the ball to seal the victory.

Canisius now heads home to prepare for its first Battle of the Bridge matchup against rival Niagara on Thursday, in Lewiston, N.Y. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. Canisius currently leads the Purple Eagles 9.5-4.5 in the Battle of the Bridge standings.