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HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team will look to snap a two-game Northeast Conference skid when it travels to Hamden, Conn. to take on first-place Quinnipiac on Saturday. The nationally-televised game, which will be shown on Fox College Sports Central and streamed on ESPN3, is set to tipoff at 2:30 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center following the men's contest between the two sides.

The Knights (8-9, 3-3 NEC) are coming off a 70-62 loss on Monday to LIU Brooklyn at home, which gave the Blackbirds their first conference win.

In a contest featuring four ties and five lead changes, the Knights started hot, as sophomore Miah Register (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) nailed three three-pointers over the first eight minutes to help FDU take a 21-10 lead with 11:13 to go before halftime.
 
After junior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic)'s jumper kept the lead at double-digits (25-15) with 9:42 remaining in the opening half, LIU answered with a 17-4 spurt to take a 32-29 lead with 3:41 to go before halftime.
 
Sophomore Tiffany Grant (Odenton, Md./Arundel) knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 32, but the Blackbirds would go into halftime leading 35-34.
 
Both sides shot at least 40 percent over the first 20 minutes. The Knights connected on 41.9 percent (13-of-31) of field goals, including 5-of-7 from behind the arc, while LIU shot 40 percent (14-of-35) from the field and outrebounded FDU, 27-17, and scored 10 points off seven Knights' miscues.
 
FDU started the second half on an 11-2 run, as sophomore Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) scored eight points to give the Knights a 45-37 lead with 15:54 remaining in the contest.
 
Still leading by eight at 47-39, the Blackbirds responded with a 15-1 spurt to go up six, 54-48, with 10:32 left in the game.
 
Senior Torrie Childs (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) made a nice one-handed shot on a spin move, and redshirt junior Danielle Pankey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) made two free throws to cut the lead to 54-52 with a little under eight minutes remaining, but it was the closest the Knights would get.
 
LIU extended the lead out to seven on two occasions before Register's fourth three-pointer of the game cut the lead to 61-57 with 2:33 to go.
 
However, the Blackbirds eventually stretched the lead out to nine before nailing 5-of-6 free throws over the final minute to clinch the 70-62 victory over FDU.
 
The Knights struggled from the field in the second half, shooting only 30 percent (9-of-30), while LIU shot 45.8 percent (11-of-24). The visitors also made 12-of-17 free throws over the final 20 minutes.
 
Despite shooting a season-high 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from three-point range, FDU went to the free throw line 15 times and made 10, while finishing the game shooting 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the field.
 
The Blackbirds shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the floor and made 2-of-10 three pointers, while knocking down 18-of-28 free throws (64.3 percent). LIU also outrebounded the Knights, 45-34, and scored 15 points off 15 FDU turnovers. The Knights scored only nine points off 16 LIU turnovers.
 
Register led FDU with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, while picking up a game-high three steals. Pankey added 14 points, and Livermore picked up her 14th double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with a game-high two blocks and two steals.

Pankey leads FDU in scoring, averaging 16.0 points per game, while scoring in double figures in 15 of 17 contests this season. She is also averaging 5.6 rebounds per contest and leads the team in steals (28). Over her last 13 games, Pankey has scored in double-figures and is averaging 17.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Livermore is averaging 14.2 points and a team-high 11.8 rebounds per game, while shooting a team-best 48.4 percent (90-of-186) from the field. She has recorded 14 double-doubles in 17 games this season, which is tied for third in the country. Livermore's rebounding average is the eighth best in the nation.

The Bobcats (15-2, 6-0 NEC), who are picked win the 12-team Northeast Conference, currently sit all alone in first place after winning at Robert Morris (61-52) and Saint Francis University (85-69) last weekend. Quinnipiac, who is ranked No. 10 in this week's College Insider Top-25 Mid Major Poll, is on a seven-game win streak and defeated LIU Brooklyn (67-60), St. Francis Brooklyn (73-52) and Sacred Heart (74-45) at home to start conference play before winning at Bryant (85-62) and the two Pennsylvania schools.
 
The Knights and the Blackbirds have played four common opponents: LIU Brooklyn, St. Francis Brooklyn, Robert Morris and Saint Francis University. FDU only defeated Robert Morris, 80-68. Quinnipiac's only two losses are at Hartford (67-61), who is ranked in the Mid Major Top-25, and against Georgia Tech (74-57) on a neutral court.
 
The Bobcats have three players averaging in double-figures. Senior guard Felicia Barron, who was a Preseason All-Northeast Conference selection, leads the way with 16.2 points per game, while shooting a team-best 77.4 percent (48-of-62) from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Jasmine Martin adds 13.4 points per game and has made a team-best 34 three-pointers (36.1 percent).
 
Junior forward Brittany McQuain chips in 11.5 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.1 percent (79-of-175) from the field. Sophomore forward Samantha Guastella scores 8.7 points per game and leads the team in three-point shooting at 48.9 percent (22-of-45), while sophomore Gillian Abshire dishes out a team-best 5.4 assists per game (92 on the season).

The Knights and the Bobcats will be meeting for the 27th time in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1998-99 season.  Quinnipiac holds a 21-5 advantage, but three of FDU's wins have come under Head Coach Pete Cinella, who has a 3-5 career record against Quinnipiac, but is winless on the road.
 
In their only meeting last season, the Knights defeated the Bobcats, 74-65, at Stratis Arena on Feb. 6, 2012. After trailing by 16 points to start the second half, FDU outscored Quinnipiac, 23-5, during a span of 10 minutes. The run enabled the Knights to tie the game at 47 with nine minutes left to play.
 
Pankey's 18 second-half points helped FDU to a 50-27 advantage in the second half. The Knights went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line in the final minute of play to secure the win.
 
The Bobcats capitalized on FDU turnovers early in the game, taking a ten point lead just four minutes into play.  The Knights responded with an eight-point run to cut the Bobcat's advantage but could not maintain their momentum before Quinnipiac extended the lead to 38-24 at halftime.
 
A layup by Livermore sparked 10 unanswered points for FDU to begin the second half. Seven points in three minutes from Pankey cut the Bobcats' lead to just five points with 12 minutes remaining in the contest.
 
Midway through the second half, Pankey drove to the basket and was fouled on the made layup. The traditional three-point play brought the Knights within two points. Twenty seconds later, Livermore received a pass from Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne), who had forced a Quinnipiac turnover, before Livermore tied the game at 45 on a shot from inside the paint.
 
A seven-point run gave FDU a 56-49 with five minutes left to play. The Knights held Quinnipiac to 25 percent from the field in the second half and scored 16 points on 15 Bobcats' turnovers.
 
In addition to Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange)'s 10 points in the final five minutes, FDU went 14-of-20 from the charity stripe as time wound down to snap Quinnipiac's seven-game win streak.
 
Livermore led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, while going 7-for-11 from the free-throw line and leading all players on the glass with 14 rebounds to record her fourth double-double of the season. Pankey added 18 points for FDU, all coming in the second half, while Laury chipped in 17 points in just 19 minutes.

Esther Wallace (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) had a big day on defense with seven defensive rebounds and a season-high five blocks. The Knights had a stellar second half on the glass, outrebounding QU, 32-14, over the final 20 minutes to finishing the game with a 48-38 advantage on the boards.

Following the contest with Quinnipiac, the Knights will travel to West Long Branch, N.J. to take on Garden State rival Monmouth on Monday, Jan. 28, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.