FAIRFIELD Conn. – After four years as the primary ball handler for the Fairfield Stags, Felicia DaCruz's Senior Day has come. The lone senior will be honored before a pivotal Saturday afternoon game at the Webster Bank Arena against the Siena Saints at noon. The contest will tip-off a Fairfield double header as the men's squad plays their final home contest of the season against Saint Peter's. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN3.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Fairfield is coming off their sixth-straight home win as they defeated Canisius 61-58 at the Webster Bank Arena. It is the second-straight season that the Stags have recorded a home winning streak of at least six games. or the second-straight meeting, Kristine Miller had a perfect shooting night against the Griffins. Miller had a career-high 14 points going 6-6 from the floor. Miller also recorded her first career double-double with a personal best 10 rebounds and four steals, the most by a Stag this season. Margeaux Dupuy also recorded a career-high 14 points off the bench. It was the tenth time this season that the Stags would eventually win a game where they trailed at some point in the second half.
FELICIA IS CRUZIN': The lone senior, Felicia DaCruz has found her shooting touch in the last four games, going 9-18 (.500). DaCruz had come into the game shooting 6-37 (.162) in her last eight games.
DaCruz currently has 378 career assists and is 13 away from moving to the 10th spot in program history (Marybeth Chartier '04). DaCruz ranks 40th among all players in Division I with her 378 career assists and is 25th in the country this season in assist-turnover ratio.
IT'S MILLER TIME: For the second-straight meeting against Canisius, Kristine Miller went perfect from the field. In fact, Miller's line was the exact same in both meetings (14 points, 6-6 FG, 2-2 FT).
Miller became the first Stag in over 15 years to record multiple games with a perfect shooting line (minimum five attempts). Fairfield has only had one other player in that span shoot 6-6 (Katie Cizynski in 2011).
Over her last 11 games, Miller is shooting 62 percent (32-52). Fairfield is 4-1 when Miller scores in double figures.
IT'S NOT OKAT TO STEAL: Fairfield recorded 10 steals against Canisius, the third time this season they have reached double figures in steals. It is the first time since in 2011-12 season they have had three separate games with that total.
The Stags have already recorded the exact same number of steals than they had all of last season (137).
STAGS AT THE WEBSTER BANK ARENA: The Stags will be playing their 100th game at the Webster Bank Arena and their third and final this season.
Fairfield started playing games in Bridgeport in 2001 and are a collective 49-50 in the Arena. Joe Frager is 16-13 in the building.
FAIRFIELD VS SIENA: The two teams will be meeting for the first time since December 3 in a game that opened up the MAAC conference for the league. All-time Fairfield has a 37-28 advantage including a 16-9 mark at home. Kelsey Carey had her coming out party in the first meeting. Carey had come into the contest scoring double figures just once in her career, she had 14 at halftime. Carey would finish with 22 points, the most points scored by a bench player since Sabra Wrice's 36 against Siena. Carey had just 14 fewer points against Siena than she had all of last season. Carey also had a career-high in field goals (11), rebounds (eight), and minutes (32). The game was won when Samantha Cooper broke a 55-55 tie with 28 seconds left with Fairfield's only 3-pointer of the game. In the series, the Stags have won eight of the last nine meetings between the two teams and has been helped from numerous performances. Felicia DaCruz is averaging nearly six assists per contest, including seven last season. Casey Smith, outscored her competition for MAAC Rookie of the Year, Margot Hetzke, picking up 14 points in her first game against Siena.
SCOUTING THE SAINTS: Siena is coming into the game after clinching their first winning season in 12 years. The Saints snapped their mini-two game losing streak after defeating Manhattan on Thursday, their 10th road win of the season, which is tied for the fourth most in the country. The Saints have done it all with only seven active players due to injuries and transfers. All of those seven players are averaging at least 20 minutes per contest, with five players tallying at least 29 minutes per game. The Saints crash the boards, which could lead to problems for the Stags. Siena allows opponents to grab just 31.8 rebounds per game, which is nearly four boards better than any MAAC school. The weakness for Siena comes from behind the arc where they are hitting just 29 percent of their shots. No player on the team is shooting better 32 percent from long range. The game will also be a contest between two of the leagues premier rookies. Margot Hetzke leads Siena with 14.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest. Hetzke is the only rookie to have received more weekly honors than Casey Smith (8-5). Tehresa Coles is the emotional leader of the team, as the senior leads the Saints with 2.9 steals per contest, nearly one more than any player in the league.
UP NEXT: Fairfield will play in their final home game of the season when they welcome nine-time defending MAAC Champions Marist to Alumni Hall on Monday at 7pm.
