FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will compete in their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game of the season when they travel to Buffalo, N.Y., to take on the Canisius Golden Griffins. The Friday afternoon contest will represent the only time that these two teams will meet during the regular season. All the action will be streamed on ESPN3 starting at 2pm.
 
This will be the fourth time in program history that the Stags have played their first conference game on the road against the Griffs. Fairfield is 2-1 all-time in those contests with their most recent victory coming in 2011. Overall, the Stags are 22-14 in the first game of the MAAC slate, but have lost their last two.
 
The Stags tested themselves during their 11-game non-conference schedule which featured various spots along the East Coast. During the slate, the Stags took on teams from the Big East, Atlantic Coast Conference, and Colonial Athletic Association, among others. Highlighted in the results was a 66-58 victory at ACC member Boston College, their first victory in Chestnut Hill since 2000.
 
Samantha Cooper was the Stags' leader in both points per game (15.5) and rebounds per game (9.5) during the non-conference slate. The redshirt senior recently became the 31st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points as she accomplished the feat at Seton Hall. Cooper now ranks eighth all-time in rebounds and 31st in points.
 
Cooper's milestone basket came during her best offensive quarter of the season as she scored 17 points in the second frame against the Pirates. Cooper connected on all six of her field goal attempts, which helped the Stags take a lead late in the half. The Stags scored 28 points during the second quarter, tying the most they have ever scored in a single quarter. Fairfield reached that number twice during the first year of the rule change in the 2015-16 season.
 
The Griffs will enter their first conference game of the season after a 2-9 mark in their non-conference slate, which includes eight losses in-a-row. Their latest setback came against Middle Tennessee in the UTRGV Holiday Classic in Ediburgh, Texas by a 55-45 count. Sophomore Tiana Pugh had her best game as a Golden Griffin with 19 points and five rebounds in the setback.
 
As a team, the Griffs have been known for their defense, which leads the league in field goal percentage defense (.390) and 3-point field goal defense (.260), the 23rd best number in the country. Only two opponents this season have shot better than 30 percent from long range against the Griffs: Oakland (.440) and Miami (.545).
 
On the offensive side, Sara Hinriksdottir is the only player averaging double figures in scoring at 13.7 points per game. She is also one of three players to have netted exactly 15 3-point field goals this season (Margaret Halfdanardottir and Maria Welch).
 
The Stags will return home to open up the 2018 calendar year when they host Niagara on Tuesday, January 2 at 7pm.