Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Fairfield at St. Peter's WBB

by Ray Floriani
JERSEY CITY, NJ- The Fairfield women's team won their third straight, 61-46 over St. Peter's Friday night. The game at Yanitelli Center saw the Stags impose their defensive will on the contest. The pace and efficiency:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Fairfield	68	90
St. Peter's	62	74

Fairfield prefers a slower pace. St. Peter's, especially trailing the second half, utilized full court pressure to force turnovers and get the Stags in a quicker tempo of play.

The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Fairfield	47	28	42	31
St. Peter's	35	10	35	23

The St. Peter's pressure did get the Stags into rushing things. On the night they had 21 turnovers. Most of those however were in the latter 10 minutes of the game when they were enjoying a double digit lead. Fairfield coach Joe Frager was not pleased with the turnovers, especially with a number of them coming in the latter minutes (which are crucial in a close contest) when St. Peter's forced a chaotic tempo. Defense, boards and getting to the line were all strongly in Fairfield's favor.

Tempo-free proof. Discussing the game with Fairfield sophomore guard Katelyn Linney, she said that Fairfield's number one defense is "a source of pride and something we work on daily." Linney was referring to the Stags' defensive points allowed average of 48 points per game. Now the question, is the 48 ppg allowed due to a slower tempo? A tempo-free look at the 18 games prior to coming to St. Peter's yielded these results:

Opposing		Defensive
Pace	Pts	Efficiency
64	864	75

Without looking at some of the other top women's teams in the nations, the numbers show Fairfield is playing some pretty sound defense. The 64 possession pace is pedestrian. But the 75 allowed on the defensive end is nothing short of outstanding.

Numbers

Fairfield is 13-6 (6-3 in the MAAC). St. Peter's falls 10 (3-17 (3-6). Linney led all scorers with 19 points. Lauren Morris paced St. Peter's with 14 points. Brittany MacFarlane, Fairfield's 6-1 sophomore, did not score but led all players with 11 rebounds. Fairfield junior forward Taryn Johnson had an impressive all around effort. Johnson scored 17 points while grabbing 9 rebounds and handing out a game high 6 assists. Admiring St. Peter's work ethic and resilience in a tough injury riddled year, Frager called them "the most dangerous 3-17 team you will find anywhere." St. Peter's freshman Teresa Manigrasso (8 points) and Linney were teammates on St. John Vianney's 2009 NJ High School Girls Tournament of Champions title winners.

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Fairfield at St. Peter's Women's Basketball

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ - In MAAC women’s meeting on Friday night, St.Peter’s defended their way to a 55-41 decision over Fairfield at Yanitelli Center. The efficiency and four factors in a pedestrian 58 possession game (Fairfield 59 St. Peter's 57):

			FTM
	ORtg	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Fairfield	70	30	17	33	22
St.Peter’s	97	38	23	60	26

Scoring has been a problem for Fairfield in conference play. Entering the game these were a few of their numbers on the offensive end.

	O Eff.	eFG%	2FGM%	PPG
Fairfield	88	43	41	56.6

The Stags haven’t fared well in the paint or beyond the arc either. Their three point percentage is 32%. On the defensive side their defensive efficiency is 94. That’s pretty good D but that offensive number is responsible for a -6 efficiency margin and a sub .500 conference record.

The story tonight was defense. Fairfield struggled from the floor and had a poor OE. Credit St.Peter’s for a tough defense that gave few good looks. Defense and hustle also resulted in a notable 60% offensive rebounding percentage. Stephanie DeWolfe’s club simply hustled on both ends of the floor.

Fairfield did not have a player in double figures. They were led by senior forward Tara Flaherty with 9 points and the only Stag to shoot 50% (3 of 6) from the field. The Stags trailed 28-13 at the half. They scored five field goals the first four minutes of the second half but that was their best stretch. On the evening they managed only 15 field goals.

St.Peter’s had two players hit double figures and was paced by senior guard Natasha Morris with 17 points. Rapidly improving sophomore center Quiana Porter added a significant 13 rebounds and 4 blocks to her six points.

Turnover rate was high for St.Peter’s but when you defend as well as they did and have a 19-6 advantage in second half points and hit 13 of 17 from the line, there are a lot of pluses to look back on.

Katelyn Linney. Had a chance to meet Linney (pictured) after the game. She is a Fairfield freshman, third in scoring at 10.4 PPG. Last season she played on the New Jersey TOC champion St. John Vianney. Yours truly had the opportunity, or honor, to officiate the game she scored her 1,000th point, a January win over Oak Hill at Monmouth University. Vocal on the floor and very active, Linney has a great outside touch. Tonight, as with her teammates, it was not a game for the archives. She scored 7 points but was 1 of 7 beyond the arc.

Records. Fairfield is 10-12, 4-7 in conference. St.Peter’s, winners in three of their last four, is 9-13, 5-6 in the MAAC.

“It was a good effort. We executed and they (Fairfield) didn’t get any easy looks….(Natasha) Morris is playing point. She’s not a natural point but does what we need.” - St.Peter’s coach Stephanie DeWolfe

Fairfield's Katelyn Linney