FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The reigning MAAC Champions, the Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will open up their 42nd Division I season and their first under Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis when they travel to Brown on Monday night at 7pm. The Stags will be entering the year as the reigning champions of the conference for the first time in over two decades.
 
The Stags tied a program-record with 25 victories during their historic 2021-22 campaign, but will start a new journey on Monday night. Fairfield will return two starters and 11 letter winners from a season ago that combined for 35 percent of their scoring.
 
Highlighted among the returners are Preseason All-MAAC selections Callie Cavanaugh and Andrea Hernangomez.
 
Cavanaugh was voted to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team and will be Fairfield's leading returning scorer. She averaged a career-high 9.6 points per game last year and her .456 field goal percentage ranked fourth in the MAAC. She also made her presence felt on the defensive side of the floor by drawing a team-high 26 charges.
 
Hernangomez earned Preseason All-MAAC Third Team honors after leading the Stags and ranking sixth in the MAAC with 8.1 rebounds per game. In the post position, she also finished third on the team with 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per contest.
 
In the guard position, the Stags will welcome back one of their sparkplugs in Janelle Brown who appeared in 31 games and averaged 3.6 points and 1.9 assists an outing. Fairfield will also bring back Mimi Rubino who has appeared in 31 career games and showed potential by tying a career-high with three assists twice in her freshman season.
 
Fairfield will also welcome Florida State transfer Izabella Nicoletti Leite to the fold. The redshirt junior appeared in 21 games for the Seminoles after rehabbing back from injuries. During her high school career, she was ranked the No. 18 overall player in the ESPNW Hoopgurlz rankings for the Class of 2018. She was also named the 2018 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging nearly 20 points per game for Neuse Baptist Christian Academy.
 
One of the biggest newest additions for the Stags, is the leader of the squad in first-year Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis, who comes to Fairfield after most recently serving as the Associate Head Coach at Minnesota. Thibault-DuDonis brings experience at various stops during her coaching career including: Florida State, Eastern Michigan, and advancing to the National Championship Game at Mississippi State.
 
During her career as an assistant coach, Thibault DuDonis advanced to two Final Fours, four WNITs, and amassed 200 victories.
 
Fans will be able to see the new Stags in the brand-new Leo D. Mahoney Arena as the program will officially open the doors to their 3,500 seat on-campus arena on Friday, Nov. 18 against Stonehill. The arena will be the new home for Fairfield Men's and Women's Basketball and Volleyball. It is 85,000 square feet and cost $51 million to build.
 
Brown amassed a 6-20 overall record and a 1-13 mark in the Ivy League last season. They return their top six leading scorers from that campaign including Isabella Mauricio who set a freshman program record with 70 made 3-pointers.
 
The Stags will play two more road games before officially opening the doors to their new arena. They continue their season-opening road trip heading to Penn State to face the Nittany Lions on Friday at 7pm.