Stephanie Geehan ’10 raised her arms and swatted the ball, blocking Bridgeport’s first shot. With that, the women’s basketball season was underway.
Fairfield and Division II Bridgeport met Friday night at the Arena at Harbor Yard for an exhibition match-up featuring two local schools. Fairfield controlled nearly the entire game and won easily, 80-35.
“I thought it was a good dry run,” said first-year Head Coach Joe Frager. “We want to get the kinks out.”
Sabra Wrice ’08, who scored 25 points in only 23 minutes, led the Stags. She hit 10 of her 15 shots, including three of six from beyond the arc – well beyond the arc, J.J. Reddick style.
“From the jump we wanted to be intense,” said Wrice. “Personally, I want to play as intense as possible.”
Fairfield’s intensity showed on the defensive end as the Stags held Bridgeport to 26.7 percent shooting and the Purple Eagles to only 11 points in the second half. Fairfield blocked seven shots and stole the ball 16 times.
“That’s one of the keys,” said Frager. “We need to apply ball pressure.”
The exhibition game was a chance for the women to play against a competitive opponent.
“I wanted to see us execute better offensively,” said Frager. “I wanted us to keep focused and play with intensity throughout the entire game.”
The Stags struggled playing in the half-court offense consistently last year, but ran the offense well against Bridgeport.
Point guard Megan Caskin ’09 dished out four assists and committed one turnover while scoring seven points. Niya Santiago ’11 ran the offense as well for an extended time, racking up five assists with two turnovers.
Eleven women played a significant amount of time for the Stags.
“Right now that is our rotation,” said Frager. “But it is subject to change. The players know that they have to earn it every day in practice.”
Frager explained that he wants a rotation of 9-10 players so that the women will know their roles and what is expected of them.
Baendu Lowenthal ’09 was second in the game in points scored with 13, and teamed with Geehan, Stephanie Cziria ’08 and Tara Flaherty ’10 to help the Stags form a solid frontcourt.
Lauren Groom ’09, Meka Werts ’08, Shireyll Moore ’08 and Joelle Nawrocki ’11 switched off as the third guard or small forward on the floor.
Despite winning by a large margin, Frager said Fairfield can still improve.
“It’s a matter of a learning curve,” said Frager. “Our decision-making at times needs to be better.”
Wrice agreed that she could have played better in the game.
“I know I have room for improvement,” she said.
However, Frager interjected with a smile saying, “I thought she was pretty good.”
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