First place is on the line Friday night as the Marist women's basketball team plays host to Fairfield. Each team comes in with an 11-1 record in conference play. The Red Foxes are the only blemish on the Stag's conference record, as Marist won by a score of 59-47 on Fairfield's home court back in January. In that game, Corielle Yarde scored a game-high 24 points and the Marist women's basketball team used a 10-2 run late in the first half to pull away. Friday's game is the Red Foxes' annual "Pack the House" game, with this year's theme being "Pack the Prom". It is the second of three straight home games for the Red Foxes as they will also host Siena on Sunday, in their Play 4Kay Breast Cancer Awareness game.

Last Time Out

• Marist rebounded from their first conference loss with a 87-49 victory over Saint Peter's Monday night at McCann Arena.
• Kristina Danella and Corielle Yarde each scored a game-high 19 points, as each hit four three-pointers, leading five Red Foxes in double figures. Casey Dulin scored 12 points and Brandy Gang had 10 points and tied for team-high honors with Natalie Gomez and Emma O'Connor with six rebounds apiece. Freshman Briana Holmes set a career-high with 11 points and added three rebounds in just 12 minutes off the bench. Freshman walk-on Maggie Gallagher registered her first career points when she hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds. In all, Marist shot 54% from the floor and hit a season-high 14 three-pointers. They registered 20 assists on 28 made field goals, led by Gomez, O'Connor and Leanne Ockenden who each had four.

SCOUTING THE STAGS

• Fairfield comes into Friday with the best overall record in the MAAC at 18-5 and tied with the Red Foxes with an 11-1 mark against conference opponents.
• The Stags are led by Taryn Johnson who is sixth in the MAAC in scoring (13.6 PPG) and third in rebounding (8.1 RPG). She leads the league in field goal percentage (.543) and blocked shots (2.0 BPG). Alexys Vazquez leads the country in three-point percentage, hitting 50% from behind the arc. Desiree Pina is second on Fairfield in scoring (11.3), leads the team in assists (3.7 APG) and averages a league-high 37.6 minutes per game.

HISTORY LESSON - MARIST VS. FAIRFIELD

• This will be the 37th meeting all-time between the Red Foxes and Stags, and second this season. The two teams met on Jan. 2, when both teams were 4-0 in the confernce, and Marist came away with a 59-47 victory.
• Marist leads the all-time series 21-15 and have won the past four matchups. They are 18-3 under Head Coach Brian Giorgis including wins in the 2005 MAAC Semifinals and 2010 MAAC Championship Game. The Red Foxes won both games last year, 54-52 on the road, and 60-45 in Poughkeepsie in the season finale.

FAST-BREAK POINTS

• In the latest MAAC statistics leaderboard, Yarde is in the top 5 in several categories. She is third in scoring average (14.8 PPG), assists (4.2 APG) and assist/turnover ratio (1.8) as well as fourth in blocked shots (1.2). Additionally, Kelsey Beynnon is fourth in field goal percentage (.484). Brandy Gang (.472) is right behind her in fifth.

WITH CONFERENCE COMES CONFIDENCE

• In the 12 games since MAAC play started, the Red Foxes have seen increased performances from nearly every player. Six players are boasting shooting percentages above .400 - Kelsey Beynnon (.545), Brandy Gang (.531), Kristina Danella (.469), Leanne Ockenden (.435) and Corielle Yarde (.417).
• Additionally, four players are now averaging at least four rebounds per game. Corielle Yarde (6.6) leads the pack, followed by Beynnon (4.7), Casey Dulin (4.5) and Ockenden (4.0).
• As a team, Marist is shooting 44% in conference play so far, and have hit 33% of their shots from downtown. The defense has also picked up, averaging 10.1 steals per game and forcing opponents into 18.6 turnovers per game.

NOTHING TO HANG YOUR HEAD ABOUT

• Of Marist's seven losses this year, three of them have come against oppenents that are currently either ranked or garnering national attention, led by St. Bonaventure who cracked the AP Top 25 Poll at 25th. Princeton (12) and Kansas State (7) are both also receiving votes.
• In the latest RPI Rankings, the Red Foxes check in at 49th. Four of the seven teams they have lost to this year come in ahead of them, led by Kansas State (11), Villanova (16), St. Bonaventure (20) and Princeton (25) in the top 25.

THE POWER OF McCANN

• Since the start of the 2009-10 season, the Red Foxes sport a record of 33-4 at home.
• The Red Foxes have gone undefeated at home in MAAC play for the past two seasons and five out of the last six years. Since the 2003-04 season, Marist is 73-5 in conference games at home and are currently on a 27 winning streak in home MAAC games.
• Since Brian Giorgis took over the program in 2002, the team is 107-19 (.849) when playing in Poughkeepsie. The Red Foxes amassed a perfect 12-0 clip at home during the 2006-07 season.