FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After the turkey is eaten on Thanksgiving, the Fairfield women's basketball team will hit the skies when they travel to nationally ranked West Virginia to play the No.22/21 Mountaineers on Saturday at 2pm. The first meeting ever between the two programs will be streamed live with free video. John Cummings will also have the call on WVOF.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Fairfield is coming off their first home loss of the season as they dropped a 58-47 to Cornell. The Stags were held to a season low 47 points, but also gave up a season low 58 points in the loss. The Stags held a team to under .400 shooting percentage from the floor for the first time this season. Cornell missed their final five shots in the first half, and went just 3-10 from behind the arc. The Big Red hit 15 of their first 17 shots from the free throw line to thwart any Fairfield comeback. Kristin Schatzlein continued her breakout season by netting a team-high 15 points including 3-8 from behind the arc. Schatzlein has now scored in double figures in five straight games, which ties the longest streak of her career. The Stags are off their first 1-4 start since 2002.
CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN STATE: The Stags will be making their first flight to the state of West Virginia for the first time in their program history. This is the 28th different state that Fairfield has traveled to in their history. This is the second team that Fairfield has played from the state of West Virginia. The Stags have also played Marshall this season. The Stags have not played an opponent from 11 different states: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
FAIRFIELD VS NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS: The Stags have one win over a nationally ranked team in their program history when they upset No. 20 Marist on January 23, 2009 in overtime on ESPNU. Fairfield played against two nationally ranked teams last season, falling to No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 24 Gonzaga. This marks the fourth straight season Fairfield has played a nationally ranked team. The Stags played Iowa State in 2012 and No. 2 UCONN in 2011.
IT'S MILLER TIME: Sophomore forward Kristine Miller has been heating up over the past three games. Miller is averaging 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds over that stretch. Miller also has six steals over the last three games, which doubled the amount of her career over her first 31 games. Miller is currently shooting .722 (13-for-18) this season. The single season record for field goal percentage is .607 set by Katrina Fields in 1984. Miller is looking to become one of the many post players who have had a breakout sophomore campaign. Over her first five games in 2009, Taryn Johnson averaged 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Katie Cizynski also averaged 7.6 points and 6.2 boards during her second season.
ALL ABOUT SHOTS: Kristin Schatzlein has reached double figures in every game through the first five games, the second straight season a Stag has accomplished this feat. Katie Cizynski was the one who accomplished that last year. Schatzlein is coming off a game where she did not collect a rebound for only the second time in her career. This is the first time she was held without a board since February 7, 2013 at Rider. She played in two minutes in that contest. Schatzlein has gone 4-4 from the line this year and has not missed a free throw shot since January 26 at Quinnipiac. Schatzlein has hit 14 straight free throws dating back to last season.
CAN'T BEAT SMITTY: Casey Smith is playing her first season in nearly three years. Smith was ineligible to play last year due to NCAA transfer rules. In her only season at Saint Joseph's, Smith was injured and did not see playing time. Through her first five collegiate games, Smith has scored 58 points which is the most for a Stag playing their first season since Desiree Pina had 64 in 2008. Smith has scored 32 of her points in the second half this season and is averaging 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds during the second frame.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: West Virginia is coming off their most successful season in school history after posting a 30-5 record and winning a share of the Big-12 regular season title. The Mountaineers graduate five seniors who have helped the program to five straight NCAA tournament appearances. West Virginia was picked to finish third in the conference this season behind just Baylor and Texas. West Virginia appeared in the Preseason WNIT before falling in the semifinals to Mississippi State. The Mountaineers defeated Seton Hall and Eastern Kentucky in those games. The Mountaineers make match-up problems for the Stags as they just had 64 rebounds in their win against Evansville, the most in a game since 1994. The Mountaineers are led by Bria Holmes who is averaging 27.3 points per game which is currently 11th in the nation. Holmes also leads the team in steals (six) and three-point field goals (nine). Holmes is the Big-12 Preseason Player of the Year and has been selected by ESPN as the 16th best player in the country. Holmes is actually a Connecticut native and grew up in New Haven, Conn. where she became the first female basketball player from the state to be named a McDonald's All-American.
UP NEXT: The Stags will stay on the road as they open up MAAC play against Siena on Wednesday at 7pm.
