The women’s basketball team has made its way back into the middle of the MAAC conference race by working hard on the boards and defense, ranking 11th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 53.9 points per game.
After losing their first four conference games, the Stags (13-5 overall, 3-4 MAAC) have battled their way back into the middle of the conference hunt. They are currently sixth out of 10 teams but boast the best MAAC defense.
Their early struggles could be partly blamed on one of the most difficult schedules, according to Head Coach Joe Frager. Fairfield faced MAAC power Marist twice, then traveled on the road to St. Peter’s and Canisius, the latter turning into a one-point, last-second loss.
The Stags returned to their winning ways, however, and are riding a three-game conference winning streak, defeating Niagara on the road, then both Rider and Loyola at Alumni Hall. In those three games, Fairfield has out rebounded its opponents by a total of 150 to 96 and held them to 49.7 points per game.
“The proof is in the numbers,” said Frager, in reference to his team wining when it out rebounds its opponents.
Against Rider and Loyola, the Stags switched things up and played both man-to-man and a 2-3 zone defense.
“We tried to switch it up so they don’t get the same looks,” said Sabra Wrice ’08. “We played hard and dug deep.”
One reason for this play has been Stephanie Geehan ’10. During the Stags’ winning streak, she has averaged nine points, 11.7 rebounds per game and 3.3 blocks per game, including a career-high six against Rider, equaling the fifth best total in program history. She also pulled down 16 boards against Loyola, tying her career-high with the third-best single-game effort in program history. Her defense and rebounding in the middle have helped the Stags hold their past two opponents to a combined 84 points.
“It is wonderful to have Geehan, another post player there to grab rebounds,” said Baendu Lowenthal ’09, after the Stags’ Fordham Holiday Classic win. “It takes a lot of pressure off of me in the post.”
Geehan leads the Stags in rebounding and blocked shots with 8.9 and 1.4 per game respectively. She is also third in points, averaging 7.6 per game, and fourth in steals, with 16 total.
“I thought we played really well, how we came together and got a win,” said Geehan.
This defense helped to keep Fairfield in the game, despite its offensive struggles early against both Rider and Loyola. The Stags connected on just five of 24 shots in the first 11:40 of the game against Rider; however, they trailed only 13-10. They proceeded to find their rhythm and go on to an 18-0 run.
In Sunday’s game against Loyola, the Stags shot just 32.8 percent from the floor.
“They took us out of our rhythm,” said Frager after the win against the Greyhounds. “Then we tightened up after we missed a few open looks.”
Wrice continued to help carry the Stags’ scoring load, averaging 18.7 points per game during the winning streak. She continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game.
Lowenthal is second on the team, averaging 14.8 points per game while also pulling down 7.5 rebounds per game, giving opposing teams a tough matchup in the post.
Megan Caskin ’09 again ran the offense with her usual effectiveness, averaging 7.3 assists to two turnovers per game along with seven rebounds per game over the past three games. She is averaging only 2.6 points per game for the season but gets the ball to her teammates in good position to score, averaging 4.6 assists per game.
Fairfield was without Ayriell Robinson ’11 and Niya Santiago ’11 for the games. Robinson is out for an extended period of time on crutches and Santiago has been indefinitely suspended for failing to meet team expectations, according to Frager.
The Stags look to continue this run of success on Friday at Rider and at the Arena at Harbor Yard on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against Iona.
Fairfield has defeated Rider once already this season at Alumni Hall, 59-43. The team has not yet faced Iona.
For the Feb. 1 game against Niagara, Fairfield is asking the fans to compete in the NCAA sponsored “Pack the House” Challenge in order to set a single-game women’s basketball attendance record. The NCAA will select a winning institution from each of the DI conferences and a group of independent schools.
All fans wearing red will be admitted for $1. The first 500 fans will receive a Stags sling bag.
Check out how the women’s basketball team looks against the rest of the MAAC (next opponent in italics)
Marist: 17-2 (7-0) Manhattan: 11-7 (6-1) St. Peter’s: 13-5 (5-2) Iona: 10-8 (4-3) Fairfield: 13-5 (3-4) Loyola MD: 8-9 (3-4) Canisius: 8-10 (3-4) Siena: 7-10 (3-4) Niagara: 3-15 (1-6) Rider: 5-13 (0-7)
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