RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Stags will be going into the MAAC Tournament next weekend, cardinal red hot. In their final chance to build momentum going into the tournament the Stags set season single game highs in field goals made, and shooting percentage as they rolled over Manhattan 72-54. The 18-point winning margin was the highest for the Stags in over a year.

“It's our last regular season game and you want to end it on a high note,” Head Coach Joe Frager said. “On Senior Day you never know what emotions you're going to get from the other team so that was our focus to try and come out strong. I was happy that we maintained it in the second half.”

The Stags made 30 field goals and shot 57 percent in the contest.

In a game that really did not mean anything in terms of seeding, the Stags wanted to find some consistency and momentum and still came out with energy.

“I think it shows a lot of maturity on their part,” Coach Frager said. “I think it means we're all on the same page right now, with the players listening to everything that we want them to do as a coaching staff we want to do everything that we can to put their best foot forward going to Albany.”

Fairfield (14-15, 13-7 MAAC) set the tone right from the start as they started off the game hot for the third-straight outing. Fairfield hit five of their first six shots which was capped by a one-handed zipped pass down low from Kristin Schatzlein to a wide open Kristine Miller who finished and forced a Manhattan (3-26, 2-18 MAAC) timeout.

The pause in play did not stop the offensive success for the Stags who shot an unreal 71 percent in the first 12 minutes. Fairfield accomplished this through their crisp and quick passes. The Stags had nine-straight assists without a turnover which extended to the 8:30 mark of the first half.

Casey Smith was at the fore front of the passing clinic for the Stags, connecting on four straight assists without a miscue (three in the first four minutes). Combined with her last two games against Marist and Iona, Smith put on a streak of 14-straight assists without turning the ball over.

The Stags would finish the game with 21 assists on 12 turnovers.

“When you can take care of the basketball and rebound the basketball, you have a chance to win the game,” Frager said. “They've done a much better job understanding the offense, and the value of possessions, and working the shot clock. I think there has been a lot of growth there.”

Fairfield would finish the half scoring 43 points, their most in an opening half this season and their second highest scoring half of the year. The Stags shot 68 percent in the first 20 minutes (six percent higher than any half this year).

The defense was also fine tuned for the Stags in the first half. The Stags held Manhattan, an offense that was averaging 69 points in their last three games, to just two points for the final 5:36 of the stanza after the Jaspers cut the deficit to 26-20 on a 3-pointer by Taylor Williams.

Fairfield did not let up in the final frame. The Stags would extend that lead to 23 in the second half as Samantha Cooper tied a career-high with four 3-pointers in the game. Ironically, Cooper had her most 3-point field goals since the season opener against East Carolina. Cooper missed only one long range shot in the game (4-5 from three).

Fairfield would not see a lead smaller than 16 in the final 13 minutes of the contest. The road team led by as many as 29 after Kelsey Carey went on a personal 6-0 run for Fairfield and Helena Orts converted two free throws. Carey scored 10 of her 14 points in the second frame.

With the lead, the Stags were able to give some minutes to some role players, and they took full advantage. Lizzy Ball finished one assist shy of a career-high with five assists in 21 minutes. Even though she did not score, Macey Hollenshead gained valuable experience in her eight minutes of work and grabbed a rebound.

Four Stags scored in double figures with Cooper leading the team with 16 points. Kristin Schatzlein tallied 14 points on 5-10 shooting. Smith tallied 14 on 7-10 from the floor and Carey rounded up the foursome with 14 on 7-11 shooting.

Felicia DaCruz dished out five assists without a turnover and now ranks in the top-10 in program history with 392 career assists.

The Stags will now head to Albany, N.Y. for the 2015 MAAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed with their Quarterfinal game on Friday at 9:30pm. Fairfield will face the winner of the matchup between the No. 6 seed and the No.11 seed Manhattan.

The last five times the Stags have made the Championship final, they won their regular season finale. This might have been the most convincing of all.