FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the sixth-straight season, the Fairfield University women's basketball team will be opposed by the La Salle Explorers. Fairfield will play their final game before a 12-day break for exams when they make the first of two trips to the city of Philadelphia, Pa., to take on former MAAC rival La Salle on Saturday at 1pm. This will be the sixth-straight year where this former conference rivalry has been renewed, and each team has alternated wins in the previous five matchups.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Stags' offense could not find any rhythm until the third quarter and then their rally fell short as they fell to the five-time defending America East champions UAlbany 59-45 on the road. The highlight for the Stags on the offensive front came near the end of the third quarter when the Stags went on a 12-0 run which cut a 15 point deficit into a single possession. Freshman Sam Kramer provided the spark by nailing Fairfield's first 3-pointer of the game which was followed by a traditional three point play by Kelsey Carey. The struggles on offense started right out of the gate for the Stags who hit just one of their 12 attempts in the first quarter for .083 clip. Their only field goal of the opening quarter came on a Samantha Cooper layup and the Stags added three more free throws to account for their five point first quarter. After UAlbany scored the game's first 13 points, the Stags defense started to settle down and forced nine Great Danes turnovers to close out the first quarter. The Stags also held UAlbany without a field goal for 10 minutes of game play but could not take advantage.
MILLER POURING ON THE MILESTONES: The Fairfield game at Albany was a milestone day for senior Kristine Miller who reached several milestones during the setback.
• The contest was the 100th of her career.
• She also surpassed the 1,500 minutes played plateau
• She hit her 100th career free throw.
• She also attempted the 150th free throw of her career.
THE EXPLORERS SCOUTING REPORT: La Salle is currently playing their best basketball of the young season after winning five of their last six outing including victories over Miami (OH) and Atlantic 10 member Dayton, a team tied for second in the conference preseason poll. Their top offensive threat is without question Amy Griffin who is averaging 20.3 of the team's 60.8 points per game. The Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection has reached double figures in all nine games this season and has reached the 20 point plateau in six different contests. Another player was the hero for the Explorers in their last game against Penn and her name was Adreana Miller. The 3-point shooting threat of the team, Miller hit the game-winning long range shot with .2 seconds left in the overtime period and gave La Salle a 58-56 victory over Penn. The Explorers had trailed by seven in the overtime period.
UP NEXT: The Stags will take a 12-day break for final exams and then return to the City of Brotherly Love on Thursday, December 22, to take on the Temple Owls at 2pm.
