FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Basketball team will open up their 43rd Division I season as they tip-off against the Lehman Lightning on Monday night at the Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The Stags will be entering their second season in their new home arena and also the second campaign under Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis.
 
Fairfield went 15-15 with an 11-9 record in the MAAC during the 2022-23 campaign and will be returning eight letterwinners including six student-athletes who started at least one game during the year. Preseason All-MAAC honorees Janelle Brown and Izabela Nicoletti Leite highlight the returners as the duo combined to average over 20 points, five assists, and 11 rebounds per game last year.
 
Along with their eight returners, the Stags will add seven newcomers to the roster with three transfer and four freshmen. The trio of transfers of: Kendall McGruder, Nicole Gallagher, and Emina Selimovic all bring experience to the group, combining for over 1,400 points and 200 made 3-pointers in their careers.
 
With the combination of the talent and experience from the newcomers and the returners, the Stags were picked to finish third in the MAAC Preseason Poll while garnering one first place vote. Fairfield advanced to the MAAC Championship Quarterfinals last year after posting an 11-9 record in the MAAC, and finishing in the top-four in the conference. It was the 15th time in the last 16 seasons that Fairfield had reached the MAAC Quarterfinals.
 
The Stags found their success with a stifling defense that ranked third in the MAAC and 60th in the nation with 18.1 turnovers forced per game. Fairfield forced 20 or more turnovers in 13 contests and averaged nearly 19 forced turnovers in conference games. That helped the Stags' defense to allow just 60.1 points per game while holding 14 opponents to fewer than 60 points.
 
The Nov. 6 opening date will mark the earliest home game in program history and the second earliest opening day. Fairfield opened up the 2019-20 campaign just one day earlier on Nov. 5
 
Lehman finished last year with a 9-17 overall record and a 5-9 mark in the CUNYAC, a Division III conference. The squad graduated all four scorers who were averaging double figures last year with Rama Diallo being the team's leading returning scorer.
 
Fairfield will next open up a five-game road trip, comprising the rest of the month of November, starting with a road contest at Lipscomb on Friday at 12pm.