FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University women's basketball team will play in their final game before the Thanksgiving holiday when they welcome the University of Rhode Island Rams to the George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on Wednesday at 1pm. With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, the program will be collecting donations and canned goods which will be sent to a local food bank. All fans who donate a canned good will receive free admission into the game.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Stags grinded out their third-straight victory with a 70-57 road decision at Mount St. Mary's. In order to get this win, the Stags needed to accomplish many goals including having a player step up when they needed. In the first half, Samantha Cooper was the go-to player registering 18 points during the first 20 minutes. During the second half, Khadidiatou Diouf was the Stag the team looked for and she hit five of her six shots for a career-high 14 points. Fairfield also had to be successful on the glass and they did by winning the rebounding battle 39-23. Also, the Stags had to hit clutch shots which they accomplished as well. The Stags shot .474 from deep including .500 in the second half (5-for-10). The Stags would actually hit eight of their final 15 shots from long range during the game with Macey Hollenshead and Sam Kramer both connecting on clutch 3-pointers to decide the game.
SHOOTING SUCCESS: Over the past two games, the Stags have found their shooting touch from the outside, recording a .429 (18-for-42) percentage from long range. Samantha Cooper has been front and center during this hot stretch, connecting on eight of her 15 3-point attempts for a .533 percentage during the games. In both contests, Cooper has tied a career-high with four long range shots. The .474 long range percentage at Mount St. Mary's was the highest in a game since the Stags shot .538 in the road win on February 17 at Siena. The Stags have also taken some time to find that shooting success as the team is shooting .565 (13-for-23) during the second halves in the wins against UMass Lowell and Mount St. Mary's.
THE RAMS SCOUTING REPORT: The Rams are coming off a 78-63 victory over Samford where fans witness an historic performance. Junior guard Charise Wilson broke the program record by scoring 38 points including 22 in the second half. Obviously Wilson is the one at the top of any scouting report as the 2015 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year leads the team in scoring (14.2 points per game), assists (5.8), and rebounds (6.6) this season. Wilson was the Rams' lone representative on the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference team as she was named to the First Team and the All-Defensive team. Besides Wilson, this Rams team is one of the deepest the Stags will play this season with seven student-athletes averaging at least five points per game. That depth was obvious in their 21 point win against Marist where Rhode Island recorded 33 bench points and recorded 82 points, their most against a Division I opponent since 2008. Everyone also chips in on the glass with five players averaging five or more rebounds per contest. As a team, Rhode Island was picked to finish ninth in the Atlantic-10 Preseason Poll.
UP NEXT: The Stags will travel to Cambridge, Mass., and begin a two-game road trip when they take on the Harvard Crimson on Saturday at 6pm.
