FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The women's basketball team will look to bounce back after their first MAAC road loss of the season when they travel to Saint Peter's University on Tuesday with tip off coming at 7pm. The game will end a three game road trip, with their second trip back to New Jersey. In their final 12 games only five more will be on the road. The Stags have currently won nine-straight decisions against Saint Peter's the second longest active streak against a Division I opponent (New Hampshire).
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Fairfield is coming off their first MAAC road loss of the season, falling to Quinnipiac 83-43. Kristin Schatzlein had her third straight double digit game by scoring a team-high 13 points. Schatzlein also hit three of the team's four 3-pointers, all in the first half. Kristine Miller also had a productive game with eight points and a career-high two blocks. The game became unraveled in the second half when the Bobcats scored 58 points and shot 91 percent (10-for-11) from three with a 69 percent shooting clip overall. Quinnipiac hit their first eight long range shots and finished the game with 29 assists on just four turnovers. For the fourth-straight game the Stags out-rebounded their opponent by a 35-33 mark. Fairfield also had a season-high six blocks and shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half. The 83 points allowed tied for the most allowed by the Stags this season. Fairfield had come into the game allowing 50 points or fewer in back-to-back games.
BLOCK PARTY: The Stags are coming off a six-block performance against Quinnipiac, the most that Fairfield has had all season. Since not recording a block against Marist, the Stags have notched 12 blocked shots with six players having two in a game. Fairfield has had at least one player tally two blocks in three straight games. This season, Fairfield has had 12 players notch two blocks in a contest.
ALL ABOUT SHOTS: Kristin Schatzlein is coming off her third straight double-digit performance and the 12 of the season. Schatzlein reached double figures in every game through the first six games, the second straight season a Stag has accomplished this feat. Katie Cizynski was the one who accomplished that last year. Schatzlein led her team in scoring seven times during their first 11 games and nine overall.
ON THIS DATE IN STAGS HISTORY: Fairfield is 9-2 all-time on games played on January 20, including a 1-0 mark against Saint Peter's. In 1997, the Stags made 35 free throws in a 88-70 win against Siena. The 35 makes and 48 attempts still rank second in Stags single game history.
FAIRFIELD VS. SAINT PETER'S: The two teams will be meeting for the 79th time in school history and the second time this season. The Stags have won nine straight over the Peacocks and are looking to sweet the season series for the fifth straight season. The nine game winning streak is the second-longest current win streak for the Stags against a Division I opponent (New Hampshire - 10). With a win, Fairfield will get its 42nd win in the series which would tie the second most of any opponent in their history. In the first game this season, the Stags led for over 37 minutes but did not fully break away from the Peacocks until Kristin Schatzlein hit a 3-pointer with just over three minutes to play to make it a double digit game. Casey Smith led all scorers with 13 points and seven boards. Felicia DaCruz is averaging 4.3 assists per game over the last two seasons against the Peacocks. DaCruz has also not missed a 3-point attempt against Saint Peter's since last season (3-3). Schatzlein is averaging 7.3 points per outing against the New Jersey side since 2013 with seven assists and just two turnovers. The Stags have not allowed Saint Peter's to score more than 50 points in any game during their nine game winning streak in the series.
SCOUTING THE PEACOCKS: Saint Peter's comes into the game on a five game losing streak, with their last and only win of the season coming on January 2, against Rider. The Peacocks come into the game ranked last in the NCAA with 44.7 points per game, nearly two points fewer than the next closest squad. Saint Peter's has scored more than 50 points twice this season. Saint Peter's struggles on offense can be seen in their shooting percentage which stands at 33 percent overall and 23 percent from behind the arc. The Peacocks' talent comes in their freshman class with a first year player leading the team in scoring in 13 of 16 games this season. Saint Peter's forced 14 Stag turnovers in their last meeting with nine steals, the most by the team this season. Two freshmen lead the Peacocks in scoring with Sajanna Bethea tops on the team with 7.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Bethea made her name on the defensive end in the first match-up with Fairfield tallying a season-high four steals. Their sharpshooter Alyssa Velles leads all MAAC freshmen with 23 made 3-point field goals. Velles has attempted 100 3-pointers, nearly 50 percent of the team's attempts. Teresa Carchado had an impressive debut against the Stags with a season-high six points.
UP NEXT: The Stags will have a quick one game home stand and their first trip to Webster Bank Arena this season for a game against Rider on Thursday. The game is part of a double-header with the men's basketball team and will be streamed live on ESPN3 starting at 5pm.
