FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The next two games will be a part of the most important 20 contests in the regular season: conference play. The Stags will play in the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game of the season when they welcome the Iona Gaels on Wednesday at 7pm. The December 2 date ties the earliest the Stags have ever opened a conference season, and the MAAC will become the third league in the country to open their slate.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Stags are coming off their first loss of the season and their fifth-straight against Hofstra, falling 67-53. Fairfield scored just 15 points in the first half (six in the first quarter) which turned the game. Fairfield showed more energy in the second half, and cut the deficit to just four in the fourth quarter. However, Hofstra connected on six of their final 10 3-point attempts, including three of their final four, to ice the game.
Kelsey Carey led the Stags in scoring for the fourth-straight game with 17 points. Casey Smith had her best game of the season with 16 points.
HOME AGAIN: The Stags will play the third game of a five-game home stand which ties for the longest home stand in program history.
Fairfield also played five-straight home games in the 1989-90 and 1987-88 season. In those ten games, the Stags were 10-0. Iona was an opponent in now all three of those seasons. The Stags won the previous two meetings against the Gaels (81-62 in 1988 and 77-56 in 1990).
STAGS IN MAAC OPENERS: All-time the Stags are 22-12 in the first game of the MAAC season, with a 12-2 mark at home.
Fairfield has won their last seven MAAC Openers, with their last loss coming in 2007-08 with a 51-45 loss at Saint Peter's. The Stags have not lost the first game of the MAAC season at home since 2001 (Siena).
The Stags and the Gaels are opening up the MAAC season for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Fairfield is 5-1 when they open up the season against the Gaels, with the only loss coming in the 1982-83 season.
FAIRFIELD VS IONA: The Stags had arguably two of their most impressive games against the Gaels last season, going 2-0 and averaging 75.5 points during those contests. Fairfield has won 10 of the last 13 times in the series. The Stags hold a 26-8 mark against the Gaels at home, including a 16-game winning streak that spanned from 1990-2006. Casey Smith is averaging 19.5 points in her career against Iona, including her only career double-double. Samantha Cooper knocked in 16 points per game against the Gaels, with a career-high 22 in their last meeting on Jan. 29.
THE IONA SCOUTING REPORT: The Gaels are not the same team they were last season after graduating all-time leading scorer Damika Martinez, who also was 44th in NCAA history with 2,581 career points. To come up with the scoring, the Gaels are looking for other players to step up this sea- son. Point guard Marina Lizarazu currently leads the team with 14.2 points per game and 3.5 assists per contest. The star for the Gaels once again is MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Joy Adams who recently became the MAAC all-time rebounding leader with over 1,200 in her career. This season, Adams is averaging 14.0 points and 8.7 boards per contest. Iona has played a very challenging non-conference schedule with games against VCU, UNC, Yale, and USC, which explains some of their statistics including 18.5 turnovers per game and a 3-point shooting percentage of .234.
UP NEXT: The Stags will play their fourth-straight home game when they welcome Marist for a showdown with the Red Foxes on Sunday at 2pm.
