Head Coach Joe Frager has yet to give a losing speech in the locker room as a Division I coach. Even without losses, he has no trouble motivating the women’s basketball team.
The Stags have opened up with five wins and no losses, won the Cal-Poly Holiday Beach Classic and are currently ranked No. 43 in the nation by RealTimeRPI.com.
“Even before we won these five games, we kept preaching that we just want to play to standards that we have set and let that be the bar,” said Frager. “Anytime we feel we are slipping below those standards, that’s when we need to really kick ourselves in the rear end and pick it up.”
While acknowledging that Fairfield did make some mistakes, Frager said he is pleased with the team’s play.
“It’s nice to be 5-0,” said Frager. “Anytime you win on the road, it’s huge.
The Stags are quickly racking up accolades in their young season, defeating Richmond, Sacred Heart, Harvard, Cal-Poly and North Dakota State.
Fairfield’s undefeated start has been led by two of its captains; senior Sabra Wrice and junior Baendu Lowenthal have been key contributors to the Stags’ success.
Wrice was named the Holiday Beach Classic MVP after the team defeated Cal-Poly and North Dakota State in a tournament hosted by Cal-Poly. Wrice averaged 24 points in the two games while scoring a season-high 28 against North Dakota State. The Stags’ lead was cut to two points, 44-42, when Wrice took over. She then scored 20 points in the final 10 minutes to clinch the win for the Stags.
“She did what a good senior captain and leader [does],” said Frager. “I expect that from her. She stepped to the plate and made some huge shots for us. We tried to ride her down the end. We ran some stuff to make sure we got the ball in her hands, and she knocked down some huge shots for us.”
Wrice has been working hard, and her improvement has shown on the court as her shooting percentages have increased this season.
“It’s been rough coming off a knee surgery and everything, but every day in practice I go as hard as I can,” she said. “I take shots that I know I’m going to take in a game and that makes it a lot easier. I know where to look for my shot when I’m open.”
Lowenthal was named the MAAC Player of the Week after Fairfield’s first two games. She averaged 21 points and eight rebounds in the first two contests, wins against Richmond and Sacred Heart.
Lowenthal was also named to the All-Tournament Team averaging 12 points and eight rebounds during the California trip.
Wrice is currently averaging 18.2 points per game while Lowenthal is averaging 16.2 and pulling down 7.6 rebounds per game as well.
Sophomore Stephanie Geehan has become a force in the frontcourt along with Lowenthal. She is averaging 8.2 points and nine rebounds and has blocked nine shots in the five games.
“Geehan is like inspector gadget with her arms. It’s kind of like ‘boop,’ and she has done a great job on the boards for us,” said Frager.
Frager acknowledged that his frontcourt has been a key part of the team so far and the Stags’ continued success will in part depend on the play of Lowenthal, Geehan, Steph Cziria ’08 and Tara Flaherty ’10.
“I think that Lowenthal and Geehan, even though they aren’t that big, they create match up problems for bigger post players who have to guard them, from a quickness standpoint,” Frager said.
Wrice agreed that the play of the frontcourt has helped the team enormously.
“There’s no better answer for guards, whether we are making shots or missing shots,” she said. “We always have someone underneath who can just get the ball back, rebound it and score it. They both [Lowenthal and Geehan] have been doing very well on offense themselves. It takes a lot of pressure off of the guards.”
Junior point guard Megan Caskin has also helped to lead the Stags’ offense with her complete game. She is averaging 3.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
The Stags return to action on the road with a tough game against Villanova on Nov. 28. They then return home to Alumni Hall on Dec. 2 for a game against Maine.
“I think it is easy to motivate when we are winning,” said Frager. “I don’t think they have gotten to the point where they think they can take a team for granted. We have a very tough string of games coming up, one at a time, and keep chopping away.”
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