Dec. 29, 2005

- Complete Princeton game notes in PDF format

HITTING THE ROAD: The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team travels to Princeton University, completing a six-game stretch on the road. The 7:00 pm tip-off on Friday, Dec. 30 marks Head Coach Sandy Gordon's second contest versus an Ivy League squad, after posting an 84-70 victory over Columbia University in the season opener on Nov. 19.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Princeton heads into Friday's game following a 73-56 win over Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, Md. on Wednesday night.

Senior center Becky Brown led the Tigers with a season-high 26 points, including 19 in the second-half. Sophomore forward Meagan Cowher added 20 points, her second-highest of the year.

Brown enters the game versus the Mount ranked 16th in Division I shooting percentage, and connected on 11-of-14 attempts versus the Mount. Her 26 points gave the senior 1,319 points in her career, good for fourth-place on Princeton's all-time scoring list.

Brown averages 14.4 ppg and 8.2 rpg, complimented by Cowher's 13.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg.

Senior guard Katy O'Brien is a sharpshooter from downtown, shooting 38.8 percent from behind the three-point arc, in addition to averaging 4.1 assists per game.

Seven players average double-digit minutes, led by O'Brien's 31.5 mpg.

The Tigers are 2-1 in Jadwin Gymnasium this season.

THE SERIES: The Tigers lead the all-time series 8-4, last beating FDU 58-51 on Dec. 30, 2004. The most recent Knights' win was when Fairleigh Dickinson posted an 79-69 victory on Dec. 14, 1995.

NEXT UP: The Knights host NEC opponent Quinnipiac University on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2:00 pm in the Rothman Center. FDU's second conference game of the season will mark the team's first home court advantage in over six weeks.

LAST OUTING: The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team lost on Wednesday Dec. 21 in the Kirby Sports Center on the campus of Lafayette College, 71-59.

The Knights opened the game on a 17-5 run, fueled by two, five-point contributions from freshman forward inside game and the outside shooting of sophomore guard Shanay Freeman. Warehime posted 13 points, coupled with seven rebounds and two steals, while Freeman contributed 10 points.

Fairleigh Dickinson displayed their depth, as 11 Knights saw action in the first-half, led by sophomore point guard 20 minutes, en route to logging 35 minutes in the contest. Coach Sandy Gordon's floor leader finished the game with nine points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

The Knights hit the locker room with a 28-15 lead, after creating 19 Lafayette turnovers.

The return of physical forward Jennifer Walkling sparked FDU's post game, as the sophomore dropped in five points on 2-2 shooting in the first-half. Walkling finished the contest with 13 minutes of floor time, notching seven points, two rebounds and one block. Junior forward Mercedez Walker hauled down a team-high seven rebounds, while freshman forward Lauren Coombs posted two career-highs with seven points in 13 minutes.

FAST TIMES AT FDU: The Knights have began their last two games with a bang. After running out to a 24-18 lead at Mount St. Mary's, Fairleigh Dickinson took a 17-5 advantage in the game's opening 10 minutes at Lafayette College. In those two match-ups, Coach Sandy Gordon's squad made two runs for a combined for 41-15 scoring outburst.

STILL ROLLING: Freshman forward Katie Warehime (Littlestown, PA/Littlestown) continues to build on her early season success, racking up a career-high 19 points in 27 minutes at Barry University on Dec. 4. In her NEC debut at Mount St. Mary's, the post player poured in a team-high 18 points.

On Dec. 11, the forward was named Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week, marking the second occasion this season. In FDU's seven games, Warehime leads the squad with 12.4 ppg and has proven the Knights' leading scorer in their most recent four outings.

FRESHMEN FLOOR TIME: A youthful Knights squad made significant strides versus the University of Miami, with five freshmen seeing double-digit minutes versus the home-standing Hurricanes.

Forward Katie Warehime sparked FDU with 13 points off the bench, including a 6-6 performance from the foul line.

Forwards Ashley Hayes and Jessica Naquin recorded career-high point totals with four and five points, respectively. The tandem also tallied career-highs in minutes, with Hayes playing 18 and Naquin 21.

Forward Heather Coombs matched her career-high minutes with 12, while setting a rebounding high with three.

SNEAKY SHANAY: Sophomore guard Shanay Freeman set a career-high in steals with five versus The University of Miami on Dec. 2. Freeman's new personal best, and the Knights' season-high, came only two days after matching her previous career-high of four steals at St. John's University on Nov. 30.

Freeman also knocked down 6-8 foul shots versus the Red Storm, duplicating career-highs.

COACH QUOTES:

Columbia:

· "She's our floor general and it all starts with the point guard," Coach Sandy Gordon said. "Megan (Kirkland) got us going and put forth a solid all-around performance at both ends of the court." · "We got some big minutes off the bench from our freshmen," Gordon said. "I'm going to play a lot of freshmen because we're so young and it's good to see different people step up at various times." · "Coming off a season like last year, the win is huge," Gordon said. "The team has worked so hard and notching this win as a result of that diligence provides a huge confidence builder."

Binghamton:

· "This is a lot of firsts, winning at home and winning the home opener," Head Coach Sandy Gordon said. "This is a huge win going into a tough stretch. We knew they were going to be good, so this is a good win going into the holiday." · "The difference between last year and this year is our depth and our tempo," Gordon said. "We try to push the ball in transition. From day one we've been harping on intensity and solid defense."

St. John's:

· "Tonight was a great effort - a great effort for 30 minutes," Gordon said. "Unfortunately, games are 40 minutes long and we got killed on the boards. As young as we are, to play with a team like that, it's a positive." · "They had a ton of points off put backs," Gordon said. "They made their run off the offensive boards. Regardless, we'll take this experience and build from here."

Mount St. Mary's:

· "Katie (Warehime) had a big game," Gordon said. "For her to come in and leave an impact the way she has in seven games has been a huge lift." · "That's NEC basketball," Gordon said. "Every game is close. We got down 14 points but we still competed and didn't quit. The bottom line is 32 turnovers won't get it done."

DECISIVE FASHION: The Knights have won three of their first eight games in dominating fashion. In FDU's three wins this season, the Knights have outscored their competition by a combined 36 points, in addition to posting a 168-114 rebounding advantage.

QUICK TO STRIKE: The Knights have scored in bunches multiple times this season. Versus Mount St. Mary's the squad combined for two runs (19-4 and 15-6), totaling 34 points while the Mountaineers posted 10. At Lafayette, FDU posted a 17-5 advantage from the opening tip.

NEC ELITE: Defensively, FDU leads the NEC in blocked shots with 4.25 per game and steals (11.50). The Knights also own the boards, leading the conference in rebounding offense (42.4), offensive boards (15.62), and defensive rebounds (26.75).

ROLE PLAYER: Katie Warehime was named the Northeast Conference Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week, announced by the league on Monday, November, 28.

The 6-1 freshman forward came off the bench to score double-figure points in the Knights' 75-64 win over Binghamton last Wednesday. The Littlestown, PA native dropped in 14 points, posted a team-high eight rebounds, registered four steals, while shooting 4-of-9 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line in 23 minutes.

Her performance marked the second occasion the freshman dropped in 10-straight points to spark the Knights this season, en route to her second double-digit scoring effort.

PLAYING BIG: Megan Kirkland notched her first career double-double versus Columbia with 15 points and 13 rebounds. The sophomore has proven more than just Coach Sandy Gordon's floor general, averaging a team-best 6.0 rpg. and 2.9 steals per contest.

Kirkland also averages 9.4 ppg. The 5-6 point guard is registering 29.0 minutes per game, shooting 42.1 percent from three-point land on 19 attempts, and dishing out 3.0 assists.

BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE: In her collegiate debut at University of Maryland - Baltimore County's Retriever Classic, forward Rachel Ormsby turned some heads in her sixth-man role, averaging 15.5 minutes per game. The freshman scored a team-high 15 points versus Columbia University on Saturday, November 19, in addition to notching six rebounds. The following day in the championship game, Ormsby contributed seven points and three rebounds in the Knights' loss to UMBC.

At 6-2 she has proven an outside threat, posting a 68.3 shooting percentage (7-12) from behind the arc and is 11-for-26 from the field.

Her exceptional tournament performance garnered NEC Choice Hotels Rookie of the Week honors in the first week of the season.

SETTING THE BAR: Junior forward Mercedez Walker shattered her previous career-high two blocks versus Columbia. The junior tallied six stuffs in the contest to accompany her seven points and five rebounds. Her 11-point performance against UMBC the following day also set a career-high.

Walker continued her defensive dominance at Barry University on Dec. 4, notching four blocks. The junior averages an NEC-leading 2.50 swats per game.

SENIOR SHOW: Lone senior Krissy Suckow was named to the UMBC Retriever Classic All-Tournament team following an impressive two-game performance. The guard averaged 11.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds en route to the Knights' runner-up finish.

AT HOME: The Knights are unbeaten at home this season, with a 1-0 record, representing the Knights' 75-64 victory over America East's Binghamton University.

RULE OF 10: FDU remained close in nearly every contest last season, but couldn't seem to catch a break. How close were they? A total of 18 of their school-record 25 losses were by 10 or fewer points.

PRESEASON POLL: The Knights were chosen to finish tenth in the NEC preseason coaches poll, according to a vote of the league's head coaches. The rankings and preseason all-conference team were announced during a media teleconference with coaches.

The Knights, who ended last season 2-25 overall with a 1-17 mark in league action, finished ahead of only ahead of Staten Island's Wagner College.

The squad ended the season short of of the conference tournament for only the second time in Coach Gordon's six seasons as Fairleigh Dickinson.

THE COACHES: Head Coach Sandy Gordon enters her seventh season with the Knights. She has led her team to the NEC Tournament in four of her six seasons manning the bench, with the team bowing out in the first round in each of those tournaments. Gordon expects her squad of 13 underclassmen to be competitive in every game.

Richard Barron enters his fifth season at the helm of Princeton University after a tenure-high 13 wins in 2004-05.

In four seasons Barron has coached six conference all-rookie honorees and five All-Ivy selections. He enters the 2005-06 season with a 40-69 record with the Tigers and is 117-117 overall between his four years at Princeton and five prior at the University of the South (Tenn.).

Prior to his appointment at Princeton, Barron coached at the University of the South where he had a 77-48 record in five years. His 2000-01 team went 18-7, won the first conference championship in school history and was ranked as high as No. 8 nationally in Division III. His last three teams had the three highest single-season win totals in school history, including a record 20 wins in 1999-2000.

The University of the South led the nation in three-pointers made each of his last two years, including 8.4 per game in 2000-01. They also led the nation in scoring offense in 1999-2000 and were 11th in 2000-01 at 77.6 points per game.