FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sunday will be quite an experience for the young Stags.  Fairfield will head to Ames, Iowa to play at the Hilton Coliseum against the Big 12 foe Iowa State on Sunday at 1pm.  For most of the Stags, this will be the highest attended basketball game they have ever competed in, with the Cyclones averaging over 9,400 fans per game.  That number is the second highest in the country.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Fairfield is coming off their second-straight loss as they fell to arguably their toughest opponent of the season, 79- 47 on the road against Big East title contender Seton Hall. The Stags shot a season-low .281 from the floor and .200 from three in the contest. The Stags defense forced 16 turnovers, which was the second most that the Pirates have committed this season. Fairfield committed only 14 turnovers against a team that came in 11th in the nation forcing over 20 per game.  Casey Smith led the Stags for the second time this sea- son, scoring 14 points on her 20th birthday. It was the third straight game that she has reached that number. Samantha Cooper had 13 points against the Pirates, the fourth straight game she has reached double figures.

NOW THAT'S TOUGH: The Stags have the 17th most difficult schedule in the country, with stats updated through games played on December 18th. Fairfield's past opponents have a record of 48-25, with a .658 winning percentage. Statistically Fairfield has a tougher early season schedule than schools such as UCONN, North Carolina, and South Carolina. McNeese State has the toughest schedule in the country thus far. The Stags will play their third game in their last five outings against a team that has received votes in the national polls at some point this season. Five of their non-conference opponents played in a national postseason last year.

CAN'T BEAT SMITTY: Stags sophomore Casey Smith has reached 14 points in three straight games coming into today's game. Smith is shooting .472 from the floor over that span and is coming off a 6-10 shooting performance against Seton Hall. The 108 points scored in her first nine games is the most by a Stag rookie in over 15 years.

HELENA OF TROY: Helena Orts is starting to find her stride as of late, averaging 10 points and 4.5 rebounds over the last two games.
It could be argued that Orts is starting to get more aggressive when looking for her shot. Orts has attempted 24 shots in the last two game. The freshman only tried 30 shots in her first seven games.
Orts is also coming off a career-high five offensive rebound performance against Seton Hall. The five boards was the second most by the Stags this season, one fewer than Kelsey Carey's six against Siena.

FAIRFIELD VS. IOWA STATE: This will be the third meeting between the two schools, both coming in the last five years. Fairfield is still searching for their first victory over the Cyclones in their history.
The two teams last met on December 9, 2012 with Iowa State pulling out a 60-43 victory. Katie Cizynski was the lone Stag in double figures with 13 points. Fairfield shot .327 in the contest.  Only three current Stags have played against Iowa State. Kristin Schatzlein has the best numbers of the trio with nine points on 2-2 long-range shooting. Felicia DaCruz has four assists and five turnovers against the Big 12 team while Lizzy Ball had two steals in three minutes in 2012.

SCOUTING THE CYCLONES: Iowa State might be the most disciplined team that the Stags will face this season, as they currently lead the nation in assist to turnover ratio (1.83). The Cyclones began the season on a four-game winning streak and received votes in the top-25 national polls. Iowa State comes into the game on a 82 game non-conference winning streak at Hilton Coliseum which dates back to the 2003-04 season. The Coliseum averages over 9,420 fans per game, the second highest number in the country (South Carolina).  The Cyclones make their name from behind the arc, as they lead the Big 12 with 9.9 three-pointers per game which is the fifth largest in the country. The Cyclones have hit 200 threes in a season in an NCAA record 11 straight seasons. Brynn Williamson has hit 22 in the first eight games and has 12.1 points per game, one of three Cyclone players in double figures. Nikki Moody ranks second among active players with career assists and has seven per game this season, which is fourth in the nation.  Iowa State is coming off an At-Large selection to the NCAA tournament, the eighth straight year they have made the Big Dance. Iowa State had 20 wins last season and was ranked as high as 11th in the national poll.

UP NEXT: The Stags will play in their final non-conference game of the season when they take on La Salle on the road on December 28, at 2pm.