Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – With her first basket of the game, Kelsey Carey recorded her 400th career point, but she didn't stop there. Not by a long shot. The junior would score 13 of her career-high 27 points in the first quarter, helping the Stags to a lead they would never relinquish. The rest of the Stags had one of their best complete games of the season as Fairfield took down Harvard 67-50 to close out non-conference play.
“I think being aggressive and just going into them and not worrying about getting a foul called is one of the little things,” Carey said. “I think us going for the ball and not being afraid of our opponent, and rebounding, and all those little things helped us with the win.”
“Obviously the points are a huge help, but the aggressive mentality with which she played,” Head Coach Joe Frager, who won his 350th career game, said. “I think we did a better job running the floor and getting easy baskets…We've been trying to stress that we're the type of team that needs to do all the little things, a lot of the blue collared things…and I thought we did that.”
The 27 points were the most by a Stag in over five years (Katelyn Linney scored 30 on Nov. 15, 2010 against George Mason).
Carey's 13 points were more than Harvard (4-6, 0-0 Ivy) scored as a team in the first quarter as she helped the Stags to a 20-11 first quarter lead.
The Fairfield defense then stepped up, not allowing a Harvard field goal for nearly 12 minutes of game time. The Crimson, who came into the game averaging 65.9 points per game, did not hit their first field goal of the second quarter until just 39 seconds were left on the clock. That allowed the Stags to build their largest lead of the game with a 19-pojnt margin after a Carey free throw which made the score 33-14 with 2:04 left in the half.
Carey went 9-for-10 from the line tonight, and is now 13 for her last 14 from the charity stripe.
Carey was not the only force for the Stags (5-6, 0-2 MAAC) inside the paint tonight. Her classmate Kristine Miller scored six of her 10 points in the third quarter, as the Stags built another 19-point advantage after her fast break layup made the score 44-25 with 4:23 left in the third period.
Miller also reached a milestone with her 300th career point.
“I think the mindset at the end of games is just to do anything to win,” Miller said. “Winning is our main focus so whatever any of us have to do coming off the bench to win, we are willing to do. Dive on balls, get rebounds, score in tough situations, so I think a lot of it is us have the mentality, 'I have to do whatever I have to do right now to get a win.'”
Harvard did not make their run until the fourth quarter, when they would cut the Fairfield lead all the way down to just five points (48-43 with 7:23 left). The Stags would not allow another point for four minutes, as they went on a 12-0 run which featured seven free throws.
Shilpa Tummala (20 points) and AnnMarie Healy (19 points) combined for 39 of the team's 50 points.
The Stags tied a season-high with 14 fast break points, which was aided by precision passing by the home team. Lizzy Ball led the team with eight assists, but Kristin Schatzlein was right behind her with six helpers. Schatzlein also scored her 900th career point tonight, and finished with nine points, six assists, and three steals.
With the win, Fairfield has now finished a non-conference season with a winning record for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.
“We are really happy,” Miller said. “I think this is a great win for us, and it's a really good marker into conference play. We played really well, and we had a lot of fun. We said in the locker room how much fun we just had and we are just really, really happy about the win.”
The Stags will now open up 2016 when they travel to Western New York starting with a game against Canisius on January 2, at 2pm.
