FAIRFIELD, Conn. – With the Thanksgiving holiday now in the rear view mirror, the Fairfield University women's basketball team will be back in action when they travel to Cambridge, Mass., for a non-conference road game against the Harvard Crimson on Saturday at 6pm. With a victory, the Stags will win their fifth-straight in the series against Harvard and will also win their first three road games of a season for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Stags nearly pulled off one of their biggest comebacks in program history, erasing a 17-point first quarter deficit and took the lead 25 seconds into the second half, but Rhode Island outscored the Stags 13-8 in the final quarter to take a 72-65 victory. The loss snapped Fairfield's three game winning streak, a feat they have accomplished in all 10 of Head Coach Joe Frager's years at Fairfield. With Casey Smith missing from the lineup for the third-straight game, Kristine Miller was the presence in the paint for the Stags, recording career-highs in points (20) and rebounds (12). With those numbers, Miller tallied her second career double-double. Freshman Sam Kramer also stepped up for the Stags by knocking down three first half 3-pointers, and finished the game with a personal best 13 points. After the initial 23-6 deficit, the Stags outscored Rhode Island 59-49 during the final 34 minutes of the game.
IT'S MILLER TIME: Kristine Miller easily had the best game of her career in the loss to Rhode Island, setting career-high in points (20) and rebounds (12). Miller's previous career-high was 15 points set on Feb., 14, 2016 at home against Monmouth. In the rebound category, Miller achieved double digit boards for the second time in her career and the first time since Feb., 13, 2015 against Canisius also at home. In that game against the Griffs, Miller also posted her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
THE HARVARD SCOUTING REPORT: Despite losing all three players that averaged double figures last season, the Crimson have not missed a beat by winning three of their first four games including three-straight. Through those first four games, Harvard has been one of the best shooting teams in the country averaging 9.8 3-pointers per game and has recorded a shooting percentage of .424 from long range, both numbers are currently 12th in the country. The top three scorers have combined to shoot .527 from deep (29-for-55) with freshman Katie Benzan connecting on 14 of her first 24 long range shots of her career. Destiny Nunley has scored one more point than Benzan this season to take over the team lead with 13.5 points per game. Madeline Raster is the other Crimson with a double figure scoring average with 10.3 points per game and a .400 shooting percentage from behind the arc. Nunley and Raster both played against the Stags last season, combining for four points. As a team, the Crimson was picked to finish third in the Ivy League, a position they have finished every year since the 2006-07 season.
UP NEXT: The Stags will take a break in the non-conference action and open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) competition when they travel to Siena on Thursday at 7pm.
