LOWELL, Mass. – Through the first three games of the 2016-17 season we know one thing about the Fairfield University women's basketball team: they can defend, and that was fully evident tonight. The Stags used that defensive energy to force 26 UMass Lowell turnovers, bringing their season total to 57 and rode that energy to a 65-41 road victory.  Much of that energy on the defensive side of the ball came from sophomore guard Casey Foley who enjoyed her best game of her career, setting career-highs in points (nine), assists (eight), and tied a personal best with three steals.
"I'm very happy with this win," Head Coach Joe Frager said. "I think in the first half we did a nice job getting the ball inside and when Lowell started to adjust and take that away from us, we started to knock down some outside shots. I think Foley played an outstanding game, not just on the offensive end but on the defensive side too because they have two or three kids who can really shoot the ball and we wanted to take that away."
The duo of Kelsey Carey and Kristine Miller led the Stags (2-1) in the first quarter, combining for 10 of the team's 14 points over the first 10 minutes. Carey was responsible for six of those points, all coming in the first five minutes of action. With the action going through the post, the Stags enjoyed their best shooting performance in an opening quarter through the young season, hitting four of their first eight shots.
Fairfield was able to extend that lead by opening up the second quarter on a 7-2 run which was capped by a 3-pointer from Kendra Landy, the first long range shot made by the Stags on the evening. Landy would score again a couple of minutes later, tying her career-high with five points during the first 15 minutes of the game.
Once again, the defense of the Stags shined throughout the contest, with Miller providing most of the statistical output. Miller recorded two steals and a block through the first 20 minutes as the Stags forced 14 UMass Lowell (0-3) turnovers in the first half.
The always energetic Foley was right with Miller with a team-high two takeaways in the first half. The shooting guard Foley also led the way in the passing department for the Stags during that span, tying a career-best with six assists in the first half. Fairfield was also able to keep up their hot shooting, recording a .643 shooting percentage (9-for-14) in the second quarter and took a 33-23 lead at the half.
The offense fed off that defensive energy after leaving the locker room. After hitting just one of their first 10 shots from behind the arc, the Stags nailed four 3-pointers in the third quarter led by a pair each from Foley and Samantha Cooper. The two shots from Foley helped her eclipse her previous career-high of six points set against St. John's last season.
The Stags kept that shooting success going in the final quarter with two more 3-pointers from Cooper who hit four of her final six shots from long range. Carey even got into the shooting fun with her second career 3-point field goal.
For the third-straight game, three Stags tallied double figures with Carey leading the way with 18 points followed by Cooper with 16 and Miller chipping in 10.
The Stags will conclude their mini-two game road swing when they travel to Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at 2pm.
