The Fairfield University women's basketball team plays its first home game of 2011, and the home opener of its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schedule, as it hosts Iona College at 1 p.m. The Stags enter the game as winners of five straight with a 9-3 overall mark and a 2-0 record in league play, while the Gaels are 4-10 overall, having lost four straight, and are 0-2 in MAAC action.
Fairfield is 16-13 in the first home MAAC game of the season all-time. Three of those home openers have had the Gaels as the opponent, with Iona winning all three, including the last meeting, 12/7/08, 62-44. The Stags are 1-2 in MAAC home openers under
Joe Frager, earning the first victory last season 57-49 over Saint Peter's
Today is the Stags annual 'Take A Kid To The Game' where children age 12 and under are admitted free to the game with the purchase of an adult ticket. The nationally recognized program helps to make NCAA sporting events more available to youth throughout the area by providing discounted and free tickets to games. As part of the TAKG program on Saturday, all kids age 12 and under are invited to participate in a postgame autograph session with the Stags.
Fairfield and Iona are meeting for the 69th time with the Stags holding a 45-23 advantage. Fairfield won two of the team's three meetings last season, including a 61-57 win in the MAAC Championships semifinal. Fairfield's 72-59 home victory during the regular season snapped an 11-game series losing streak, the Gaels longest such streak in the series. Fairfield, which has now won back-to-back games in the series, won a series best 15 straight meetings between January 4, 1994 and February 4, 2001.
Joe Frager has faced Iona eight times, the most of any opponent in his Fairfield tenure (Siena also) and is 2-6 in those games.
Fairfield lowered its scoring defense number to 47.2 points per game and are fourth in the nation in through games of January 5. Niagara is the fifth team this season the Stags have held to fewer than 40 points and the 26 points allowed to Albany marked the best defensive effort in the Stags Division I history. The Stags have now held 27 opponents to 50 or fewer points during the
Joe Frager era. The Stags are 26-1 in such games, with the only exception being a 30-29 Villanova victory earlier this season. Under Frager, the Stags have held 15 opponents to 45 or fewer points, seven to under 40 points and three to 30 or fewer points.
Iona enters today's game with a 2-6 record in its road games and has lost its last three road games by an average of 31 points. The Gaels have two players scoring over 11 points a game, with Anda Ivkovic averaging a team-best 11.9 a game by shooting 47.5 percent from the field. Kristina Ford is adding 11.1 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder at 5.9 caroms a contest. Suzi Fregosi has handed out a team-best 33 assists, while Ford leads the team in steals (26) and blocked shots (12). Iona is being outscored 67.4-54.5 on the year, and is being outrebounded 43.1-36.2. As a team, the Gaels are shooting 34.4 percent from the field, 24.6 percent from behind the arc, while opponents are hitting at a 40.6 percent clip from the field and 31.4 percent from downtown.
Katelyn Linney knocked down nine three-pointers during the Stags last two games and in the process became the eighth player in program history to surpass 100 makes for her career. She has now knocked down 102 career three-pointers, passing Christine Fryer (1992-96) for eighth place all-time in the Canisius win. Meka Werts (113) and Megan Light (115) are sixth and seventh on the all-time list, with Holli Tapley (1997-2001) holding the record at 209 makes.
Fairfield has won five consecutive games for the fourth time in as many seasons under
Joe Frager. The Stags won the first five games that Frager coached in 2007-08, then put together an eight-game stretch in 2008-09 and won nine straight last season. It is the second longest active win streak in the league (Marist-7).
