#3 Stags at #3 Iona on Thursday at 7:00 pm

[FU73]

The Stags (11-7)(12-15) travel to New Rochelle on Thursday to play Iona (11-7)(14-13) at 7:00 pm. With a win, the Stags will clinch the number three seed in the MAAC Tournament for the third-straight season and the 11th time in program history. The #3 seed plays the #6/#11 winner. Iona is (7-5) at home and average 562 fans. The Stags are (5-10) on the road. In the last 3 games both the Stags and Iona are (1-2) and both are on two game losing streaks. The Stags beat Iona 66-77 on January 29.

Scoring Offense:
Iona - 69.1 ppg (#2)
Stags - 56.1 ppg (#8)

Scoring Defense:
Stags - 60.9 ppg (#3)
Iona - 66.3 ppg (#11)

Stag Offense:
Casey Smith - 11.9 ppg and 4.5 boards
Kristin Schatzlein with 11.6 ppg and 3.9 boards
Kelsey Carey with 7.3 ppg and 4.2 boards
Samantha Cooper with 7.2 ppg and 6.6 boards

SCOUTING THE GAELS: This might be the time that the Stags want to play Iona. The Gaels have lost two straight, and three of their last five. The most surprising stat in those contests is that Iona has failed to score 60 points in two. Before this recent stretch, Iona reached the 60-point plateau in 13 of their previous 14 outings. The Gaels have a narrow margin of defeat, with a combined 12 points in losses to Marist and Quinnipiac. This year’s game plan is no different for Iona: outscore your opponent. The Gaels score nearly 70 points per contest and shooting 42 percent from the field, the best number in the MAAC. The Gaels also like to hit threes in transition as they average eight 3-point attempts per game and have connected on 34 percent of those. The Gaels get off to a fast start, averaging 34 points in the opening half while their opponents net 29. Where there is an up there is a down, the Gaels allow 66.3 points per game, the most in the conference. Opponents are shooting 41 percent from the field, which is ninth in the conference. The all-time scoring leader in MAAC history, Damika Martinez, might be one of the best guards in the country. Martinez is third in the nation with 23.7 points per game and is the nation’s active points leader. The senior also ranks 61st in NCAA history with 2,478 points. Martinez is not the only player that makes defenses cringe, Joy Adams is fifth in the country in rebounding and averages a double-double with 14.5 points and 12.8 boards. Five rebounds per game come on the offensive glass, the second best number in the country.

Iona Roster:
www.icgaels.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=14900&SPID=7100&SPSID=64329

Video ($7.95 PPV):
www.maacsports.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17400?DB_OEM_ID=17400

Live Stats:
www.icgaels.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?ATCLID=209906803&SPSID=810780&SPID=137825&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=14900&LIST_SPORT__BASKETBALL

Audio:
www.wvof.org/listenlive?ATCLID=209906803&SPID=137825&SPSID=810780&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=32500

MAAC Standings (2/25/15):
Quinnipiac 18-0 1.000 26-3 .897
Marist 14-4 .778 18-9 .667
Iona 11-7 .611 14-13 .519
Fairfield 11-7 .611 12-15 .444
Siena 9-9 .500 16-11 .593

Niagara 9-10 .474 13-15 .464
Rider 8-10 .444 11-17 .393
Canisius 8-11 .421 10-18 .357
Monmouth 7-11 .389 11-16 .407
Saint Peter's 3-15 .167 3-24 .111
Manhattan 2-16 .111 3-24 .111

[FU73]

Stags up 38-26 at the half.

Kristin Schatzlein with 12 points
Casey Smith with 10 points
Kristine Miller with 6 points
Samantha Cooper with 6 points and 6 boards

STAGS
Score 38
Field Goals 53.1%(17-32)
3-Point FGs 28.6%(2-7)
Free Throws 100%(2-2)
Rebounds 18(6-12)
Steals 2
Blocks 0
Assists 11
Turnovers 5

IONA
Score 26
Field Goals 37.9%(11-29)
3-Point FGs 33.3%(4-12)
Free Throws 0%(0-0)
Rebounds 15(6-9)
Steals 3
Blocks 0
Assists 6
Turnovers 7

[FU73]

Stags win 74-62 and clinch the #3 seed.

Iona cut the Stag lead to 2 points (58-56) with 5:23 left in the game. Stags finish with a 16-6 run for the win. After the heartbreaking Alumni Hall loss to Marist and the WBA upset loss to Siena this will be a big confidence boost for the MAAC Tournament.

Casey Smith with 19 points, 7 boards and 9 assists-(Career High)
Kristine Miller with 14 points-(Career High) and 5 boards
Kristin Schatzlein with 14 points and 4 boards
Samantha Cooper with 10 points, 11 boards and 4 assists

STAGS
Score 74
Field Goals 49.2%(29-59)
3-Point FGs 27.3%(3-11)
Free Throws 72.2%(13-18)
Rebounds 37(12-25)
Steals 6
Blocks 2
Assists 19
Turnovers 8

IONA
Score 62
Field Goals 42.4%(25-59)
3-Point FGs 40%(10-25)
Free Throws 66.7%(2-3)
Rebounds 31(10-21)
Steals 5
Blocks 2
Assists 16
Turnovers 12

Final Regular Season Game: Saturday, February 28 at #11 Manhattan (2-17)(3-25) at 2:00 pm

[FU73]

“I’m extremely pleased with this win,” Head Coach Joe Frager said. “Iona is as talented as a team that you’re going to find in this conference, to be able to beat them on their floor is huge. The thing I was happy about was that they made a run in the second half and we struggled with that against Marist, we called a timeout and said, ‘we’re not going to let that happen again.’”...

As a team, the Stags found a way to get to the line. The Gaels had three players foul out in the final stanza, and Fairfield converted on those opportunities (13-18). “It shows that it’s in them,” Coach Frager said. “Hopefully now they can use that as a catalyst as a spark because nothing is easy. It’s not going to be easy on Sunday, and after that. They are going to be faced with adversity again and they need to be able to reach down and say, ‘we’ve been in this situation before and we’ve responded.’”

Box Score:
www.fairfieldstags.com/fls/32500/Stats/WBB/2014-15/ion0226.htm

[sobro]

Iona actually went on a 20-8 run to tie the score at 56. Fairfield then held Iona without a point for 5:55 while going on a 11-0 run to put it away. A huge win for the Stags.