Women's Basketball

Joe Frager is in his second season as the head coach of the Fairfield University women's basketball team, and his 11th at the collegiate level.  In his first decade at the collegiate level he has built an impressive resume, including a Division II National Championship, an average of 21.1 wins per season, six Coach of the Year awards, and numerous other accolades.

All he accomplished in his first season at the helm of the Stags, was a 22-win season, the fourth highest single-season win total in program history.  The Stags, who posted a win over Boston College during the campaign, finished in a second-place tie in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season standings and advanced to the semifinals of the MAAC Tournament.

The campaign began with a 72-57 victory over Richmond, the first of five straight to open the year.  The Stags' 22 victories on the year equaled the fourth most in a single-season, including 21 regular season triumphs.  It marked the seventh 20-plus win season in the program's 34-year varsity history, and the first since the 2000-01 campaign.  Frager stated at the beginning of the season that the goal for the year was to play the best basketball down the stretch, and that seemed to be the case, as he coached the Stags to wins in 12 of the final 16 contests, including five of six to finish the regular season.

Frager was named the program's fifth-head coach, and second at the Division I level, on April 18, 2007, coming to the Stags after a nine-year stint as the head coach at Southern Connecticut State University.  Over the course of his tenure at SCSU, Frager built the Owls into a Division II powerhouse, culminating in the 2007 National Championship.  That 2006-07 squad set a school record, posting a 34-2 record, including a 20-0 start and an 11-game winning streak through postseason play.  His nine-year mark at SCSU was an impressive 189-83.

Frager earned instant recognition in his first year as a collegiate coach, the 1998-99 season at Southern, earning New England Collegiate Conference Co-Coach of the Year accolades.  He was honored after leading the Owls to an 18-win season, and the program's first postseason berth since 1985, qualifying for the ECAC Championship.

It was the first of many personal awards that Frager would earn during his tenure at Southern Connecticut. He was named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year each of his last three years at SCSU.  Frager received recognition from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in 2005 and 2006, being named the Region I Coach of the Year.  After capturing the 2007 National Championship, Frager earned the Molton/Women's D-II Bulletin National Coach of the Year award.

The 1999 postseason berth was the first of many for Frager, who coached the Owls to four NCAA Tournament berths, and a spot in the conference championship in each of his nine seasons.  In each of his four NCAA Tournament appearances, Frager's squads have picked up at least one win.  The first NCAA Tournament win of his coaching career came with a 66-63 over UMass-Lowell at the end of the 2002-03 campaign.  All told, Frager has an impressive 9-3 record in NCAA Tournament play.

The 2003-04 season saw the Owls win 19 games and fall just short of an NCAA Tournament berth.  Frager's team still had an impact on the national standings however, winning the statistical national title for scoring defense for the first time.

Frager's Owls wasted no time in returning to the 20-win plateau and postseason play.  The 2004-05 season saw Frager lead the Owls to a 25-6 overall record and an 18-4 mark in Northeast-10 play.  Frager's Owls, who finished the year ranked 21st nationally, defeated Pace, 55-33, in the NCAA Northeast Regional to cap off the season. 

A year later, Frager's squad posted a SCSU record 29 wins, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.  The team captured the NE-10 regular season and tournament titles on the way to a final national ranking of 14th.  And for the second time in three years, the Owls were the statistical national champions in scoring defense.
 
Frager's road to Fairfield began in 1987 when he was named the head varsity girls' basketball coach at Seymour High School.  Over the next 11 seasons his teams compiled an impressive 208-58 record, for a winning percentage of .782, and three state titles.  Frager found a winning way at Seymour, with 11 straight appearances in the CIAC tournament and eight consecutive trips to the quarterfinals or beyond. His charges put together a winning streak of 52 straight games during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons, with identical 26-0 records, and a pair of state titles.  Frager led the Wildcats to the first state title in 1993.
 
A native of Shelton, Conn., Frager earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of Connecticut in 1984.  In 1994 he earned a Master's Degree in Social Sciences from SCSU.

Frager, and his wife Shirley, reside in Southbury, Conn., with their sons, Brendan (14), and Kevin (11).

Laura Scinto begins her second season as a member of the Fairfield University women's basketball coaching staff.  In addition to serving as the Stags recruiting coordinator, Scinto is involved with player development of post and perimeter players and assists with developing practice and game plans.

Scinto has been alongside head coach Joe Frager for 12 years, including the entire nine-year stint at Southern Connecticut State University.  During her time with the Owls, Scinto played an integral part in the 2007 National Title, as well as the team's four NCAA Tournament appearances.

For the two years prior to making the move with Frager to SCSU, Scinto was his assistant at Seymour High School.  In that capacity she helped lead the Wildcats to back-to-back state titles and played a role in the 52 game winning streak. She also spent time coaching at Shelton High School along with other local AAU programs.

Scinto earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Bryant College, where she was a member of the women's basketball team.  She led the squad to three NCAA Tournament appearances, while scoring over 1,000 points, and earning academic all-conference honors.  Scinto went on to earn A.S. and R.N. degrees from St. Vincent's College of Nursing.

A native of Shelton, Conn., Scinto currently resides in Ansonia, Conn.

Dennis Masi begins his second season as an assistant coach with the Fairfield University women's basketball program.  Masi will work with the Stags perimeter players, handle the team's community service efforts, play a role in recruiting, assist with practice and game planning, and play a role in the everyday operations of the program.

With over a decades worth of coaching experience, Masi will provide a veteran presence on the Stags bench. He spent the 2006-07 season at UMass-Lowell, where he was responsible for recruiting and travel.  He spent the prior season as a member of Joe Frager's staff at Southern Connecticut State University.  In working with the Owls post players, Masi helped the squad to a final ranking of 14, going 29-4, and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.

Masi also has head coaching experience on his resume, spending six seasons at the helm of the women's basketball team at Southern New Hampshire University.  In that capacity he was responsible for coordinating and directing all aspects of the Penmen, a Division II member of the Northeast-10 Conference.

In his first collegiate coaching position at the University of Hew Haven, Masi showed his willingness to do whatever it takes for the good of the program.  Hired to be an assistant coach with the men's team, he coached both squads, when the women's program had an immediate need for an additional assistant.  He coached for both teams, coordinating practices for both and game planning for both, as well as serving as the recruiting coordinator for the women's program. He helped recruit five all-Conference women's players, three of whom scored over 1,400 points, as well as a men's conference Rookie of the Year.

Masi attended Western Connecticut State University, where he earned a B.A. in Communications in 1991.  He went on to earn an M.A. in Physical Education, with a concentration in Sports Management, in 1995 from Adelphi University.

A native of Milford, Conn., Masi currently resides in West Haven, Conn.

Aliya Cox is now in her second season as an assistant coach with the Fairfield University women's basketball coaching staff.  In her role with the Stags she is responsible for post player development and assisting in the program's recruiting efforts, as well as playing a role in practice and game planning, and other duties in the daily operations of the program.

Prior to her move to Fairfield, Cox spent the 2006-07 campaign as an assistant coach at the University of Maine. For the Bears she assisted in recruiting, film exchange and worked with the guards and post players on instructional drills.

Cox earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Education in 2000 from UMass-Lowell.  She was a three-year starter for the RiverHawks, serving as a team captain as a senior and earning All-Conference accolades that season.  She was one of two non-professional players selected in the Winter of 2002 to play for a CWNBA exhibition team on a tour of China, where the squad played the Chinese National Team and League All-Star Team. The Summer of 2002 saw Cox playing for Guayama Brajas in Puerto Rico.  There she was a league All-Star, leading the team in points, assists and rebounds.

She began her coaching career at her alma mater, spending six seasons on the women's basketball staff, the last two seasons as the top assistant.  During her tenure at UMass-Lowell, Cox was responsible for recruiting, as well as year round conditioning programs.  Other duties she assisted on were opponent scouting, scheduling, and every day operations of the program.

A native of Middletown, Conn., Cox currently resides in Hamden, Conn.