ALBANY, N.Y. – The Stags will try and do something that no MAAC team has done since the first year of YouTube: eliminate the Marist Red Foxes in the MAAC Tournament. Since 2005, Brian Giorgis has created a dynasty in Poughkeepsie and has won the last nine MAAC Championships. The Stags will try to put an end to that when third-seeded Fairfield will meet the second-seeded Marist in the Semifinals of the 2015 MAAC Tournament at 1:30pm on Sunday at the Times Union Center. With a win, the Stags will also advance to the 11th MAAC Final in program history and the first since 2012.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Fairfield is coming off their first MAAC Tournament win since 2012 as they held off a furious Niagara comeback to finish off the Purple Eagles 65-57. Felicia DaCruz set a season-high with nine assists on just one turnover. Her biggest pass came in the final 20 seconds of the game with Fairfield up two. DaCruz drove to the right and found Kristine Miller inside the lane and the forward converted a three-point play to make it a two possession game. DaCruz did not just contribute passing the ball, but she hit three clutch shots in the second half. The senior started the game 1-9 from the field but would hit three of her final four attempts in the final 14 minutes. After being out-rebounded 77-44 (a margin that Head Coach Joe Frager said he would write anywhere he could), the Stags narrowly out-rebounded Niagara by a 30-29 margin. Niagara had come into the contest as the conference leader in rebounding margin. The win avenged a regular season sweep from the hands of Niagara, something that the Purple Eagles had not been able to do in over 10 years. It marks the first time the Stags were able to beat a team in the playoffs after getting swept in the regular season since 1988.
STAGS VS. THE DEFENDING MAAC CHAMPIONS: The Stags have met the defending MAAC Champions nine times in the tournament and hold an 1-8 record in those games. The only win the Stags have had against the defending league title winners happened in 1991 Semifinals in a 70-68 win over Manhattan.
SMITTY GOES FOR HISTORY: Casey Smith has been going for history all season as she nears the Fairfield all-time rookie scoring mark. Smith needs just five points to tie the mark that was set 17 years ago. What Stag fans may not know is that Smith is chasing her former basketball coach Lisa Mikelic for that honor. Mikelic coached and refereed games when Smith was growing up and set the rookie mark in 1988 with 373 points. Mikelic still attends Fairfield basketball games to see Smith and the Stags play (see picture on right).
A TALE OF TWO HALVES: It was the worst of times for the first 12 games of the Stags' season as they started out 2-10 overall and 1-2 in the MAAC. The 10 losses was the most in the first 12 games since the 2002-03 season. The losing streak was capped after a loss to Niagara at home with a last minute Purple Eagle layup. The times changed for the Stags on January 6 when Fairfield upset nine-time defending MAAC Champions Marist at the McCann Center. Fairfield became the first team in over a decade to win back-to-back games at the McCann Center. Since that win, the Stags are 13-5. Interestingly, however, Fairfield is scoring less points per game (55.6 compared to 59.7) since that victory. The Stags are also shooting at a lower percentage in every category.
STAGS AS THE THIRD SEED: The Stags clinched the number three seed in the MAAC Tournament for the third-straight season and the 11th time in program history. Fairfield has a record of 12-9 as the third seed in the tournament, winning the championship in 1988.
BALANCING ACT: Three Stags reached double figures in the win against Niagara the sixth time this season the Stags have reached that feat. Fairfield is 11-2 in games where at least three players score in double figures. The Stags reached that mark 18 times last year and were 16-2 in those contests. Fairfield was a perfect 11-0 when exactly three players reached 10+ points. The Stags are 27-4 in the last two years when at least three players reach double figures.
THE COMEBACK KIDS: In 11 of the 15 wins this season, Fairfield had to comeback from a second half deficit. The 11 wins after trailing at some point in the second half is tied for the highest number in the country (Cleveland State).
FAIRFIELD VS MARIST: Fairfield and Marist will be meeting for the fourth time in the postseason. Needless to say, the Stags are 0-3 in those contests and have been outscored by an average of 24.7 points in those games. This will be the first time that the two teams will be meeting in the semifinals since 2005. All-time this will be the 48th time in program history with Marist having the 27-20 edge. Marist is the only MAAC team in which the Stags do not have a winning record. The first meeting was the turning point of the Stag season. Fairfield was coming into the McCann Arena on a five-game losing streak and a 2-10 record, not to mention a game where they picked up just 21 rebounds, their lowest in 10 years. However, for those 40 minutes everything finally clicked. Samantha Cooper capped off the upset with the biggest shot of the season so far for Fairfield. With three seconds left, Cooper released a jumper that hit nothing but net to complete the win. It was the seventh lead change in the final four minutes. In each game, a Stag was able to record a double-double. Cooper notched the first of the season for the Stags with 13 points and 10 boards, while Kristin Schatzlein netted 14 points and 10 boards in the loss. The Red Foxes have been able to stop the scoring of Casey Smith who is shooting 7-29 in the series.
SCOUTING THE RED FOXES: What more can you say about the dynasty that is Marist. The Red Foxes have not lost a MAAC Tournament game since 2005 when Million Dollar Baby had won the Oscar for Best Picture. Since then, Marist has won nine-straight MAAC titles. But, unlike previous seasons, the Red Foxes have shown they are vulnerable. Marist is not the one seed for the first time during the run and have lost three of their last seven games. As always, Marist is a team built on defense. The Red Foxes lead the league allowing opponents to score just 59 points per game while holding opponents to shoot 36 percent from the floor, which is 20th in the country. As any successful team, Marist is very disciplined, turning the ball over just 12.0 per game, the 11th best number in the country. The Red Foxes also rarely foul, being whistled for just 12.1 fouls per game, the third lowest in the country. So what is Marist's weakness? Rebounding. The Red Foxes are averaging just 35.7 boards while allowing 41.7 caroms. Marist is led by two All-MAAC First Team performers in Tori Jarosz and Madeline Blais. Jarosz is their inside presence, who leads the league in double-doubles. Jarosz is averaging a team-best 17.5 points per game and 9.3 boards while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Blais, who just tallied her 1,000th career point, is their outside threat shooting nearly 45 percent from behind the arc which is sixth best in the country. It was Blais who shot 9-10 in the second half in Marist's win against the Stags a couple of weeks ago.
UP NEXT: If Fairfield advances they will play in the MAAC Championship Final and play the winner of No.1 Quinnipiac and No.5 Siena on Monday at 4pm on ESPNU.
