2010-11 Women's Basketball Digital Publication

The Fairfield University women's basketball team kicks off its 30^th Division I season on Friday night when it hosts Quinnipiac University at Alumni Hall. For the third time in as many seasons the Stags enter a campaign without its leading scorer returning from the previous year. Unlike last season however, the 2010-11 squad has two players returning that scored in double-digits among its game-tested veteran group.

The Stags return eight players from last season's 20-win team - but have just one scholarship senior - two total - on the roster. Among the returning players however are six student-athletes that started at least twice during the program's 2009-10 season, which culminated in the team's first postseason berth since 2001. Of those six players, four started at least 16 games, and two - Desiree Pina and Katelyn Linney - started all 34 games.

All told, Fairfield returns two-thirds (1,304-1,973) of its scoring from a season ago, including Taryn Johnson, who shot an impressive 45.5 percent from the floor during her sophomore campaign. The junior is also the team's top returning rebounder, having finished last season with 234 caroms. The Stags, who averaged 37 boards a game, return 60.5 percent of that rebounding.

Fourth-year head coach Joe Frager also welcomes four newcomers to the fold. The quartet gives the Stags an influx of size - all are 5-foot-10 or taller - and wide variety of on-floor attributes that will help replenish the Stags roster.

The Stags backcourt is six players strong, but has just one player that is a junior by eligibility. That one player, Desiree Pina, will be the focal point for the Stags offense, after averaging 12.1 points per game a year ago - good for seventh in the MAAC. She was named to the All-MAAC Third Team for her efforts in being the team's second leading scorer. Pina will continue in the combo-guard role that she excelled in last season seeing time at both the point and shooting-guard position.

Penciled in as the Stags starting two-guard a year ago Pina became the team's primary point guard following Sarah Paulus' knee injury. In that role, Pina handed out a team-best 98 assists and put together an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.2, just missing out on qualifying among the top-five in the MAAC in that category. Her 2.88 assists per game was good for eighth in the league. Pina finished second on the team with 412 points, including hitting 75.4 percent of her free throws - the seventh best total percentage in the conference. 

Pina also proved her fitness last year, starting all 34 games in which the team played. Her 38.1 minutes a game - which increased to 38.5 a game in league play - ranked first in the MAAC and among the top-10 in the nation.

Sarah Paulus, a junior academically, is expected to return to the Stags line-up where she left it last season - as the team's primary point guard. Paulus handed out six assists last season before tearing her ACL minutes into the fourth game of the year. After nearly a full year of rehabilitation, Paulus is back and ready to go. Along with her ball handling skills, Paulus is a cerebral player that is a valuable asset in the Stags complex offensive set, and giving Frager an additional offensive weapon and deep threat.

Also returning with a full season of collegiate basketball under her belt is Katelyn Linney. Just a sophomore, Linney, who has already played over 1,200 minutes in a Stag uniform, has emerged as one of the top three-point shooting threats in the league. Her 2.0 makes per game from behind the arc was third best among MAAC players. She finished the year with 67 three-point field goals, which is the third most in a single-season in program history.

Linney burst onto the season with an 18-point performance at Rhode Island, her collegiate debut, and proceeded to score in double-digits 18 additional times that season. She netted a career-high 22 points at Saint Peter's and twice knocked down 5-8 from behind the arc. Linney finished her rookie campaign with 66 assists and 31 steals, both good for third on the Stags roster.

With a relatively young back court, senior Kelly Romano could be one of the more important pieces of the puzzle this season. Selected as a team captain, Romano brings a strong work ethic to the program on a daily basis that is an example for the younger Stags. When on the floor in game action, her veteran, heady demeanor will give Frager a calming influence for the Stags - young and old alike - to lean on.

Some of that youth will be found in the addition of Christelle Akon-Akech and Alexys Vazquez. Vazquez gives the Stags another threat from behind the line, coming to Fairfield with six scholastic three-point records, including the career mark of 212 makes. She has also shown the ability to handle the ball well and gives Frager an additional ball-handling talent. Akon-Akech will see most of her time on the wing, but will lend her talents to the point guard rotation as well.

On the wings the Stags will look for a reprise of last year's breakout campaigns from both Joelle Nawrocki and Taryn Johnson. Both players stepped into starting spots for a portion of the season and will continue to need to do so for the Stags to have a succesful 2010-11 campaign.

Nawrocki, a senior, emerged from the shadow of veteran starters over first two years with the Stags and stepped into a prominent role last year. Now with 16 starts to her credit, and having appeared in all 34 game last season, Nawrocki fills the role of veteran. An athletic wing player, Nawrocki shown in all facets of the game as she averaged over 27 minutes a contest. Her versatility makes her a tough match-up for opposing teams, as she can rebound, shoot and distribute the ball.

Akon-Akech is another versatile player that has the athleticism to play a variety of positions, but her primary spot will be on the wing. She has experience playing a variety of positions and has both the ball-handling and leaping ability to continue to do so at the collegiate level. Akon-Akech is no stranger to Fairfield either, as she is the niece of former Stag men's player Ajou Deng. 

Johnson came into her own during her a sophomore campaign that saw her start 24 of the Stags final 25 games and will be slotted right back into the starting spot at power forward. Johnson averaged 9.6 points in the 24 games she started. For the year, her playing time tripled from her freshman season, and the Stags saw her nearly quadruple her offensive output, putting up 302 total points, and finished 28th in the league at 8.9 per game.

Arguably among the league's top leapers, Johnson pulled down 6.9 rebounds per game, good for eighth in the MAAC. She also has continued to develop as a shot blocker, swatting 53 during her sophomore season, and enters the 2010-11 season ninth on the Stags career list in that category with 75.

Pushing Johnson for playing time will be sophomore Brittany MacFarlane, who appeared in 31 games during her rookie campaign.   At 6-foot-1 she is a presence in the post and stretches the opponents defense with her shooting range. She averaged 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds last season, while handing out 19 assists. 

Frager will also look for Katie Cizynski, a 6-foot-2 rookie, to compete for playing time during the year. An All-America nominee her senior season, she averaged a double-double over the course of her scholastic career.

The competition for playing time at center will be between sophomore Laura Vetra and newcomer Brittany Obi-Tabot. Vetra saw action in 21 games a season ago scoring 14 points and pulling down 15 boards.   A strong back-to-basket player Vetra's international playing expereince is a beneficial addition to the Stags roster. 

Obi-Tabot, who was named to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic Teams, averaged a double-double for her scholastic career. She was a McDonald's All-America nominee following a senior season that saw her average nearly 21 points and over 14 rebounds.

The Stags have a 29-game regular season slate in preperation for the 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship, which will be played at the Arena at Harbor Yard, March 3-7. For just the second time in conference history the league's title game will be aired nationally, as the Monday afternoon tilt will be available in over 74 million homes on ESPNU.

The Stags will make a regular season appearance on ESPNU as well, travelling to Loyola on January 14. Fairfield's home finale comes on February 21, when the Stags host Siena at the Arena at Harbor Yard. That game will be televised locally, on MyTv9, in a production of Fairfield University Athletics and the Fairfield Media Center.

The 11-game non-conference slate begins with four consecutive home games at Alumni Hall. Fairfield will host Cornell on November 19 at the on campus facility in the prorgam's 1,000 varsity game. Fairfield also resumes a series with Big East member Villanova, travelling to Philadelphia on December 2. The Stags final non-conference game comes December 28 at N.C. State of the ACC.

Of the Stags 15 home games, 12 will be at the on-campus arena, beginning on November 12 when Quinnipiac visits. That game marks the return of Fairfield University Alumni Association Hall of Fame member Tricia (Sacca) Fabbri. The Stags will host three games at the Arena at Harbor Yard this winter, beginning February 6 when defending MAAC champion Marist visits. Fairfield will also host Loyola and Siena at the Arena.