FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will complete their longest homestand of the season when they welcome the Canisius Golden Griffins to the George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on Thursday night at 7pm. The Stags enter play as one of three teams unbeaten in conference play and will be looking for their first 4-0 start in the MAAC since the 2011-12 season.
 
A big part of their early success has been the suffocating Fairfield defense that enters play as the top-ranked defense in the league allowing just 40.3 points in MAAC games, nearly 17 points fewer than the next closest team (Rider). Fairfield has allowed their MAAC opponents to shoot just 28 percent from the field and 21 percent from behind the arc, both tops in the league.
 
That defensive effort was once again shown in their most recent contest as they held Saint Peter's under 50 points in a 67-48 victory at Alumni Hall. The Stags never trailed and only needed 12 seconds to grab a lead they would not give up. Fairfield jumped out to a 10-0 advantage as they did not allow a Saint Peter's point until the 4:48 mark of the first quarter. In total, Fairfield allowed just 15 first half points, the fewest by a Stag opponent in any half this season.
 
The Stags were able to control the tempo of the game by winning the battle of the boards, courtesy of the play of Katie Armstrong. Armstrong recorded her first career double-double as she grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the win. It is the seventh-straight game that Armstrong has led the team in rebounds and the second-straight contest she has reached double figures in boards. In MAAC games, Armstrong is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game, ranking only behind Quinnipiac's Paige Warfel.
 
Sam Kramer was the team leader in points with 18, including a 3-for-5 showing from behind the arc. It was the third time this season she has connected on at least three 3-pointers in a game. For her career, Kramer has connected on 123 long range shots and is three shy of entering the top-10 in program history as she would tie Cara Murphy '07 in that category.
 
Canisius enters play with a 1-3 MAAC record with two-straight losses after their win against Monmouth. D'Jhai Patterson-Ricks is the team's leading scorer with a 17.0 points per game scoring average, good for fourth in the conference. The senior has reached double figures in every game this season. She is one of three Griffins to average double figures joining: Danielle Sanderlin (10.6) and Tiana Pugh (10.5).
 
Fairfield will hit the road for a short road trip when they travel to Iona for a meeting with the Gaels on Saturday at 1pm.