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Kristen Schatzlein, a senior from Tolland, was named the first team. Smith, a junior from Danbury, and Kelsey Carey, a junior from Staten Island, N.Y., were named the third team.
Schatzlein becomes the first Fairfield guard to be named to the All-MAAC first team since Sabra Wrice received the honor in 2008. The three All-MAAC honorees are the most for the Stags in one season since 2011.
“We’re really happy for all three,” head coach Joe Frager said. “It’s a really nice honor for them and the program. You could make a solid argument for any number of 25-different players having a legitimate shot at being in the top 15. It’s a reward for the work each has put in and we are really proud of each of them.”
Schatzlein was the team’s top shooter from long range with 61 3-pointers (2.1 per game which was fifth in the conference). A workhorse for the Stags, Schatzlein played in 36 minutes per game, which was second-most in the conference. Despite all those minutes logged, Schatzlein recorded a 1.3 assist-turnover ratio, fifth in the league. In MAAC only games, Schatzlein led the team with 12.9 points per game (fifth in the league) and was second on the squad with 4.9 rebounds per MAAC contest.
Schatzlein now becomes one of five candidates for the league’s Player of the Year award, joining Marist’s Sydney Coffey and Tori Jarosz, and Iona’s Joy Adams and Marina Lizarazu.
Smith received a third team selection for the second-straight year. Smith was arguably the team’s most consistent player, reaching at least nine points in 14-straight games (a streak that was snapped in the regular season finale against Quinnipiac). During that stretch, Smith shot 48 percent from the floor and averaged 13.0 points per game, second on the squad.
Carey was named to the All-MAAC Third Team for the first time in her career after pacing the Stags with 12.2 points per game during the regular season. Carey also led the squad with five 20-point games including a career-high 27 in the win against Harvard.
It marks the first time since 2011 where a trio of players were named to an All-MAAC squad. In that season, Taryn Johnson was recognized on the league’s First Team while Katelyn Linney and Desiree Pina got a spot on the Second Team.
The Stags have received the fourth seed in the MAAC Tournament after posting an 11-9 league mark and will take on fifth-seeded Monmouth on in the MAAC Quarterfinals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
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