Game Notes

For the 12^th and final time this season the Fairfield University women's basketball team will play a game at Alumni Hall, hosting Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Saint Peter's College Monday night at 7 p.m. The Stags, winners of six of its last eight, are 16-8 overall and 9-4, in fourth place, in the league. The Peahens are 3-21 overall and have lost six straight games to fall to 3-10 in the MAAC, tied for eighth place.

John Cummings and Maria Conlon will call all the action live on WVOF 88.5FM and will also provide the audio for the live webstream. Fans can also follow the game via Livestats.

All couples will receive free admission to the game on Monday night, with one lucky couple winning a chance for a free dinner for two. Tickets are available by calling the Fairfield ticket office, 203-254-4136,  during business hours on Monday or at the door beginning at 6 p.m. Monday evening.

The game between Fairfield and Saint Peter's is a part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS). The JBS project is a nationwide effort to identify basketball games between Jesuit schools and, through those games, bring greater positive awareness to Jesuit education and mission. This project was developed by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) in response to member institutions wanting to spread the word of Jesuit higher education through the more than 90 basketball games in which Jesuit institutions play each other. Fairfield is 3-1 in JBS contests this year with two wins over Canisius, the win over the Peahens and a loss at Loyola.

Fairfield and Saint Peter's are meeting for the 71st time, with the Peahens holding a 37-33 advantage. The Stags defeated the Peahens 61-46 when the teams met in Jersey City in January. The Peahens were the opponent in Joe Frager's first-ever MAAC contest, a game Saint Peter's triumphed in 71-53, also at the Yanitelli Center. The Stags won the next four meetings and Frager is now 5-2 against the Peahens in his career at Fairfield. Saint Peter's won the first six meetings between the two teams and 14 of the first 15, with the Stags victory coming 79-70 in overtime during the 1982-83 season. The Stags then won nine of the next 11 and while they have six win streaks of three or more games, they have never won more than four consecutive games in the series. Saint Peter's last won back-to-back games against the Stags in sweeping the 2001-02 series and the first meeting of the ensuing year.

Taryn Johnson is shooting 52 percent from the field over the last seven games, 51.3 percent for the year, and is averaging 16 points per game in the stretch. Along with that, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, Johnson is pulling in 9.6 boards over the seven games, to go along with 16 assists, 16 blocks and 15 steals. At the line she has been equally impressive, shooting 75 percent to raise her season free throw percentage to 66.4 percent - 16 percent higher than her career average entering the season.

The Stags shot 50 percent from the floor in the second-half to pull away for a 61-46 win over the Peahens when the two teams met January 28 at the Yanitelli Center. The Stags hit 5-8 to open the half, expanding a six-point (21-15) 34-18 just under five minutes into the period. The Peahens would get no closer than 10 points the remainder of the half, with the Stags leading by as many as 18, 48-30, with 5:25 remaining in the contest. The Stags had three players in double figures on the night, led by the 19 points of Katelyn Linney, who knocked down 3-7 from behind the arc. Taryn Johnson just missed out on a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds, as well as a career-best six assists. Desiree Pina tallied 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, hitting 2-3 from behind the arc. Brittany MacFarlane was scoreless, but did pull in a game-high 11 rebounds on the night. Fairfield finished the game shooting 42 percent from the field, 5-14 from downtown, and hit 14-20 at the stripe.

 

Saint Peter's enters tonight's game having lost six straight games, falling to 3-21 overall and 3-10 in league play. The Peahens are being outscored by 12.7 points per game, on average, and are s coring 54.2 points a contest. The team is even in turnover margin, committing 18.6 a game and is -4.4 in rebound margin. Jynae Judson is the only Peahen scoring in double-figures, ranking fourth in the league at 13.6 points per game. She is also the team's top rebounder, 7.7 per game, which is good for fourth in the MAAC entering play today. Aziza May is the only Peahen to start all 24 games - four have played in every game - and she leads the team with 75 assists, to go along with 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.