The Fairfield University women's basketball team looks for its third consecutive win on Wednesday night as it hosts the University of Albany at Alumni Hall at 7 p.m. The Stags will be accepting donations for the United Way Backpack Program at the door, with all fans making a donating of $5 or more receiving a complimentary ticket to the Stags January 8, 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) home opener versus Iona.
The United Way Backpack Program began two years ago and provides insecure elementary school students with discreetly-distributed food to take home for the weekend. The program started with approximately 100 Bridgeport elementary age students and has grown to include 400 students in Bridgeport as well as 24 students in Norwalk.
The Stags have won back-to-back games and enter the contest with a 6-3 overall record, while the Great Danes are 7-4, having fallen 90-60 to Hofstra on Monday night. Fairfield and Albany are meeting for only the second time in women's basketball history and for the first time at Alumni Hall. The Great Danes earned a 63-52 win over the Stags when the two teams met last season, December 23, at SEFCU Arena in Albany.
Desiree Pina had 12 points and
Katelyn Linney added 10 points for the Stags who shot 31.3 percent from the field in the game. Fairfield out rebounded the Danes 41-36 on the day.
Pina is coming off of her best game of the year as she scored a career-high 24 points in Sunday's win over St. Francis (NY). The junior guard knocked down 7-14 from the field, including 2-3 from the line, as well as shooting 8-9 at the stripe. She tied a career-high with nine rebounds and handed out three assists in her 40 minutes of action.
Albany enters tonight's game with a 7-4 record after a 90-60 loss at home to Hofstra on Monday night. The Great Danes have lost three of their last four games, though two of those losses are at the hands of #5/4 Duke and Syracuse, who has received votes in the latest poll. Ebone Henry is the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.3 of the teams 55.7 points per game. Julie Forster is averaging a team-best 11 rebounds a game and is just shy of a double-double at 9.7 points a contest. The Great Danes are shooting 35.1 percent from the field on the year, but are hitting just 27.9 percent from behind the arc - making 5.5 three-point field goals per game.
