FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The women's basketball team will not have that much time to rest as the play their fourth game in the last seven days as they travel to Lawrencevile, N.J. to take on the Rider Broncs. The Stags will be looking for a season-long three game winning streak as they play in their third conference road game. Fairfield is undefeated against the league on the road so far this season. Game time is Sunday at 2pm.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Fairfield is coming off their second-straight win as they won their 250th all-time game at Alumni Hall, defeating Saint Peter's 57-46 in front of 2,000 kids in the first-ever Stop and Shop School Day Game. Three Stags scored in double figures, the fifth this season they accomplished this feat. Casey Smith led the Stags in scoring for the third time in the last four outings. Felicia DaCruz had her best shooting performance of the season, tying a season-high with 10 points. The senior also went 4-5 from the floor and hit both of her 3-point attempts.Fairfield led for 37 minutes in the game, the first time this season they have led for that long. The Stags had their best defensive effort of the year, limiting the Peacocks to a 46 points and 14 made field goals, both a season-best. Kristin Schatzlein had three 3-point field goals and now has 19 assists with five turnovers in her last five outings.
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?: The 46 points the Stags allowed against Saint Peter's was a season-low for the Stags defense. It was the fewest since they allowed 39 against the Peacocks last season. Since the beginning of last season, the Stags have allowed fewer than 50 points seven times, with Saint Peter's being the victim three times.
BALANCING ACT: Three Stags reached double figures in the win against Saint Peter's the fifth time this season at least three players have reached that mark. Fairfield is 3-2 in those games. The Stags reached that mark 18 times last year and were 16-2 in those contests. Fairfield was a perfect 11-0 when exactly three players reached 10+ points.
FAIRFIELD VS. RIDER: The Stags and the Broncs wills be meeting for the 38th time in program history, with the Stags having a 32-5 advantage. However, three of the Broncs wins have come in the last five outings. This will be a rematch of last year's MAAC Quarterfinals where the Stags were upset by the sixth-seeded Broncs.The three victories in the last five outings are the most for the Broncs against the Stags during any five game span. The Broncs have defeated the Stags only three times on the road (2000, 2005, and 2013). Felicia DaCruz is the leading returner who had success against the Broncs last season. DaCruz was second on the team with 13.7 points per game and over five assist per contest. DaCruz made her mark shooting the ball going 3-3 from long range and 86 percent (18-21) at the free throw line. Kristin Schatzlein and Kristine Miller are the only other Stags to have seen action against the Broncs. Schatzlein averaged seven points per outing while Miller chipped in 2.3.
SCOUTING THE BRONCS: Rider comes into the game, on a five-game losing streak, but four of those losses have come on the road. The Broncs will be playing just their fifth game on campus where they currently hold a 1-3 record. Last season the Broncs won 15 games, their most since the 1993-94 season and finished with a winning MAAC record for the first time since 1999-2000. Rider was picked sixth in the preseason poll. Despite their 0-5 MAAC record, the Broncs have been out-scored by a combined eight points in their last three MAAC losses. The reason for Rider's struggles have been on the offensive side of the floor. The squad is shooting just 34 percent overall, 23 percent from behind the arc, and 59 percent from the free throw line. All those numbers rank towards the bottom of the conference. A problem for Fairfield could be on the glass, with the Broncs ranked fourth in the conference in rebounding margin. Robin Perkins, the transfer from Saint Francis (Pa.) is the team's leading scorer with 11.5 points per game Emily Fazzini has 21 3-point field goals after returning from a knee injury last season. Fazzini is only shooting 24 percent from behind the arc. To make Stag fans feel a little better, Stephanie Mason, who hit four 3-pointers in the Quarterfinal upset last season has a total of three long range shots through the first 15 games and is averaging under 6.5 minutes per contest.
UP NEXT: The Stags will stay on the road for the second game in a three-game road swing as they travel to inner-state rival Quinnipiac on Thursday at 5pm.
