ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Months of hard work has come down to this week. The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will begin their stay in the 2022 Hercules Tires MAAC Championships in the Quarterfinal round against ninth-seeded Iona on Wednesday at 1pm at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The Stags will enter as the tournament's top-seed for the first time in 22 years and will be searching for the program's fourth MAAC Championship and first since 1998.
 
The Stags finished the regular season with a 19-1 record, the best conference record in program history. Fairfield's only loss during the MAAC slate came against Siena on Jan. 22, and the Stags have rattled off 12-straight victories since that contest. The 12-game winning streak is the third longest in program history and the second highest in the Division I era. The 1990-91 team won 14-straight and the 1974-75 squad rattled off 16-straight.
 
The 19 conference victories tied with Toledo for the most in the nation and also marked the first time that a MAAC team has won 19 games in a conference season.
 
Throughout the year, the Stags have leaned on their starters who combine for 82 percent of possible minutes and 83 percent of the team's scoring.
 
At the top of the list is the MAAC's leading scorer in Lou Lopez-Senechal who averaged 19.7 points per game, sitting in the top-30 in the country. The senior was named to the All-MAAC First Team for the third-straight season, the sixth player in conference history to achieve that feat. She has reached 20 or more points 15 times this season, including back-to-back 30-point outings last week.
 
Her 531 points this season ranks fifth on the program's all-time list. She also eclipsed the 1500-point mark in her career against Rider.
 
The offense runs through the team's point guard and tri-captain Rachel Hakes, who was honored with a spot on the All-MAAC Third Team. She leads the MAAC in most passing categories including: assists per game (5.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.57), ranking 14th in the country. A leader off the court as well, Hakes finished her undergraduate degree in just three years and earned Fairfield University's Bellarmine Medal for the highest GPA of the graduating class at a perfect 4.0.
 
Callie Cavanaugh joined Hakes on the All-MAAC Third Team, also earning an All-MAAC nod for the first time in her career. A stable presence inside the paint, she has connected on 46 percent of her shots, the sixth highest in the MAAC. She also leads the team with 25 charges drawn, 16 more than any other Stag.
 
Sydney Lowery and Andrea Hernangomez round out the starting five. Lowery, a transfer from Boston College, has brought leadership and experience to the squad and has set career-highs in: points (248), rebounds (95), assists (39), and 3-pointers made (23).
 
Hernangomez earned a spot in the starting lineup this season after winning last year's MAAC Sixth Player of the Year. The forward ranks fifth in the MAAC with 8.2 rebounds per game and has led the team on the boards in 16 contests.
 
Sharpshooter Sam Lewis is the first off the bench and has provided her shooting prowess. Lewis ranks fourth in the MAAC with 2.0 3-pointers per game while ranking fifth with a .353 shooting percentage.
 
This Championship tournament will be the last for Head Coach Joe Frager, who announced his retirement before the season, citing health reasons. Through his 15-year Fairfield career, Frager has maintained a 262-190 record while winning 65 percent of his MAAC contests. He has also mentored 35 All-MAAC athlete and 75 All-Academic members at Fairfield. Frager has won 451 games through his collegiate career including the 2007 Division II National Championship at Southern Connecticut State.
 
The Stags lead the league in all shooting categories including: field goal percentage (.422), 3-point shooting percentage (.328), and free throw percentage (.740).
 
On the passing front, Fairfield leads the MAAC and ranks 21st in the country with a 1.20 assist-to-turnover ratio. They have limited themselves to a program low 11.6 turnovers per game, the sixth fewest in the country.
 
On defense, the Stags are coming off a game when they blocked 10 shots against Saint Peter's, their highest number in a game in 10 years.
 
Fairfield will be facing the eighth-seed Iona Gaels in their Quarterfinal matchup with the Gaels defeating Rider on Tuesday. This will be the seventh time the two teams have met in the MAAC Championships, with the Stags holding a 5-1 record. The last meeting came in 2012 with a 61-45 win in the Quarterfinals in Springfield.
 
The Stags will be looking to advance to the MAAC Semifinals for the third-straight season which will tip-off on Friday at 11am against the winner of No. 4 Niagara and No. 5 Siena.