Feb. 11, 2006

Box Score

HACKENSACK, NJ - The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team knocked off Mount St. Mary's University, 66-61, in the Rothman Center on Saturday, Feb. 11. Senior guard Krissy Suckow (East Brunswick, NJ) matched a career-high of 28 points, shooting the lights out from long-range with five three-pointers.

"This is a huge win," Head Coach Sandy Gordon said. "Right now every win is big because we're fighting for a playoff position."

The Knights (7-14, 4-9 NEC) opened the game on a 5-0 run, boosted by an inside bucket by sophomore forward Jennifer Walkling (Westminster, MD) and a three-pointer by Suckow.

Mount St. Mary's (11-11, 7-6 NEC) countered with a 12-4 run spanning 4:00, with guard Brianna Gauthier (Saverna Park, MD) leading the charge with six points, en route to 11 in the opening half. Gauthier notched 16 points, while forward LaToya Butler (Upper Marlboro, MD) contributed 19.

Sophomore point guard Megan Kirkland (Glen Allen, VA) nailed a trey from the left wing to level the score at 12-12, with 12:52 remaining in the half. Two possessions later sophomore forward Nikki Lockhart (Rochester, NY) splashed home an open look from behind the arc, as FDU knocked down 4-of-6 shots from long range in the initial 20 minutes.

Suckow connected on a three-ball at 3:09, putting FDU ahead, 30-29.

Freshman forward Katie Warehime (Littlestown, PA) provided a spark off the bench in the first-half, notching six points, en route to 12 in the contest.

At halftime, the score was 31-31. Fairleigh Dickinson swiped nine steals, but was out-rebounded 19-14.

At the 15:39 mark in the second-half, sophomore guard Shanay Freeman (Laurelton, NY) grabbed an offensive rebound and dropped in a put-back, evening the game at 38-38.

Warehime gave the Knights their first lead of the second-half at 44-43 with 12:47 remaining, converting a lay-in.

"We didn't panic when we were down," Gordon said. "We played good defense and created turnovers in some big spots. Down the stretch we had some key contributions from our bench."

Suckow drained two shots - one from downtown - providing FDU with a 5-0 surge and a 56-48 lead. The senior banged another three-ball at 6:57, before knocking down a free throw on the Knights' ensuing possession to extend Fairleigh Dickinson's lead to 57-48 - the largest for advantage by either team on the afternoon.

The defense played tough in the waning minutes, highlighted by junior point guard Gayle Coats (Richmond, VA/Gertrude)' (Richmond, VA) career-high five steals.

The Knights travel to Long Island University at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13. The Blackbirds downed FDU on Feb. 4, 66-60.