FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Get ready for five months filled with excitement and story lines ready to be written. As the weather forces the sports world attention inside and on the hardwood, the Fairfield University women's basketball team will tip-off their 36th Division I season and do so like they've never done before: by hosting their crosstown rivals. The Stags will look for their eighth season opening win under Head Coach Joe Frager when they welcome the Sacred Heart Pioneers, the reigning NEC regular season champions, to the Webster Bank Arena on Friday at 5pm. This match will only be the start of the night for Fairfield fans as the men's squad will take on the Pioneers to conclude the doubleheader. Both games will appear on ESPN3.
This will be an interesting year for the women's basketball squad who will display a mix of experienced seniors and other players ready to make their impact. Three starters comprise that experienced group, and all of those will come in their front court. Led by a pair of All-MAAC selections Casey Smith and Kelsey Carey the Stags' post presence might be regarded as one of the most experienced and deepest in the conference. Combine that duo with returning starter Samantha Cooper who will also return as Fairfield's leading outside shooter from last season, and the leader off the bench Kristine Miller, the Stags have the formula for another consistent season. Still yet to be mentioned is the tallest player on the squad in 6-3 forward Khadidiatou Diouf who is expected to make an impact on both sides of the floor, especially her shot making ability.
Another storyline that can excite Stags fans is watching players get their chance to lead the team. Several players who saw minutes off the bench last season will have to fill the shoes of both graduating guards in Lizzy Ball and Kristin Schatzlein and will represent Fairfield's new backcourt. But that is what they have worked for during their careers and all those hours over the summer. Junior Macey Hollenshead and sophomore Kendra Landy will be looked to lead the team on the court as the team's point guard replacing last year's MAAC assist leader Lizzy Ball. At the shooting guard, lefty Casey Foley and junior Kristen McLaughlin will fill the void of the graduation of Schatzlein, an All-MAAC First Team selection last year.
Three freshmen will be making their collegiate debut this season in Sam Kramer, Erika Schlosser, and Nicole Bus. Kramer who scored over 1,000 points and dished out 500 assists during her high school career will be looked to have that same all-around impact in either guard position. Schlosser brings another strong presence on the outside shooting while Bus is another post player from Canada who can make her impact both in the lane and behind the 3-point arc.
The first opponent the group of 12 will have to worry about resides less than five miles away from their campus in the NEC Preseason favorites, Sacred Heart. The Pioneers won 20 games last season and were selected to the WNIT after posting an impressive 16-2 NEC record, a number that clinched a regular season title. The Pioneers have most of that talent returning (four out of five top scorers), only losing Alissa Tarsi who was the team's leading rebounder last year. The biggest impact player coming back is the reigning NEC Player of the Year Hannah Kimmel who led the team with 16.5 points per game (18.7 in conference games). Kimmel might be one of the best overall players the Stags will see this season, as she finished second on the team and seventh in the conference with 7.6 rebounds per game. The redshirt senior was also second in the NEC with 2.33 three-point field goals per game while shooting .367 from downtown.
After this crosstown battle, the Stags will return to Alumni Hall for just one of three non-conference home games when they take on Loyola on Tuesday, November 15 at 7pm.
