FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The two-time MAAC Champions, Fairfield University Women's Basketball team drew the No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will face Kansas State in the First Round of the Big Dance. The Stags will take on the Wildcats on a neutral court at the home of the four-seed Kentucky Wildcats on Friday. The 12-seed ties for the best seed in the tournament in program history.
 
"We know the ultimate goal is to win the MAAC Championship year after year, but this team is hungry," Head Coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "Since March of last year, we talked about the number 33, the amount that we lost to Indiana by. That's been our motto to close that gap and we are excited about the team that we have. We know that we've got our work cut out for us, but this team is ready to go and is hungry."
 
Fairfield saw their name in the NCAA Tournament bracket for the second-straight season after punching their ticket by winning the MAAC Championship Title in a dominant championship win over Quinnipiac. Fairfield enters the tournament with a 28-4 overall record, the 14th-best winning percentage in the country. Among those victories were wins over squads from the SEC, ACC, and Big East.
 
Fairfield found that success by boasting one of the nation's most exciting offenses, ranking in the top-20 in: 3-pointers per game (8.9), assists (17.7), assist-turnover ratio (1.30), and field goal percentage (.464).
 
They were led by a pair of double-digit scorers led by the MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player Meghan Andersen who poured in 27-points in the MAAC Finals against Quinnipiac.
 
The Stags also held one of the nation's most lockdown defenses, limiting opponents to 54.0 points per game, placing in the top-10 in the country. They held their foes to 50 points or fewer in 14 games.
 
Fairfield has increasingly put their name in the national conversation with 59 wins over the past two seasons, including a dominant 45-1 record against their conference opponents.
 
It is the second-straight season and the seventh time in program history the Stags have appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Kansas State will bring a 26-7 overall record into the tournament after finishing fourth in the Big 12. The Wildcats had a trio of double-figure scorers led by All-American Yokie Lee.
 
The winner of Fairfield and Kansas State will advance to the NCAA Tournament Second Round against either the host Kentucky or 13-seeded Liberty on Sunday.