FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After posting their first road victory of the season, the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will be seeing many different venues over the next month with five of their final six non-conference games coming on the road. The next city for the Stags to check off their list is Emmitsburg, Md., as the Stags will travel to face the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers for the first time since 2009. With a victory, the Stags will post their first-ever win at the Knott Arena with their only other meeting coming in 2008.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The defense of the Stags stepped up once again, forcing 26 UMass Lowell turnovers leading to a 65-41 victory. The Stags did not trail in the contest and led for 38 minutes. Casey Foley was one of several Stags to step up in the contest, and did so by bringing the energy on the defensive side. Foley would set career-highs in points (nine), assists (eight), and tied a career-high with three steals. In the first half, the Stags went through their post with Kelsey Carey and Kristine Miller combining for 20 of the team's 33 points during the first 20 minutes. After Lowell adjusted, the Stags found their shooting touch by hitting eight of their 13 shots from 3-point range, recording a .615 shooting percentage.
SPARKLING DEFENSE: Through the first three games of the season, the Stags have made their name on the defensive side of the ball and it was a big part in the road win at UMass Lowell. Fairfield forced a season-high 26 UMass Lowell turnovers bringing their season total to 57. The 26 turnovers was the most in a game since the Stags forced 39 miscues against Iona on February 8, 2009 in a triple overtime contest. When it comes to regulation, that same season Fairfield forced 27 turnovers against Iona in their first meeting on January 27, 2008. Compared to last season, the Stags forced just 39 turnovers through the first three games of the season. The 57 turnovers are the most through the first three games of the season under Head Coach Joe Frager, with the previous best being 49 set in the 2014-15 season.
THE MOUNTAINEERS SCOUTING REPORT: The Mountaineers return just one of their top-four scorers from a season ago in senior guard Alexis Carter, who averaged 12.8 points per game during the 2015-16 campaign. Carter also led the team with 7.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals leading to an All-NEC Third Team selection. Also returning into the fold for the Mountaineers are Kayla Bates and Kathleen Belanger-Finn who combined to shoot .356 from long range last season. The Mountaineers also welcome a couple of highly thought of recruits in Kayla Agentowicz (ranked the 81st best guard in this year's class by ESPN) and Ashlee White (ranked the 80th best point guard). After being picked to finish eighth in the NEC, the Mountaineers have started out the campaign with a 1-2 record, but with those losses coming to Pittsburgh and Maryland. Caroline Hummel is their leading scorer and was the leader in their lone win against Morgan State by pouring in a career-high 28 points and 15 rebounds. Also in the game, Mount St. Mary's limited Morgan State to just four first quarter points.
UP NEXT: The Stags will return home for their only remaining non-conference home game on the slate welcoming the University of Rhode Island to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on Wednesday at 1pm.
