HACKENSACK, NJ - The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team edged Wagner College, 57-55, in its regular-season finale on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Sophomore forward Jennifer Walkling (Westminster, MD/Westminster) (Westminster, MD) led the Knights (10-17, 6-12 NEC) hauling down six offensive rebounds on her way to seven boards in the first-half.
Walkling's dominating performance resulted in her fourth double-double of the season - and second against the Seahawks in as many games - with a team-best 15 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Krissy Suckow (/Mt. St. Mary Academy) (East Brunswick, NJ) hoisted a career-high 22 field goal attempts resulting in 12 points, in her Senior Night farewell to the Rothman Center.
Junior point guard Gayle Coats (Richmond, VA/Gertrude) (Richmond, VA) knocked down a three-pointer at 16:59 to push the Knights ahead, 9-4.
Sophomore point guard Megan Kirkland (Glen Allen, VA/Hermitage) (Glen Allen, VA) subbed in to spell Coats, canning a three-ball of her own at 9:28 to end a 7:31 FDU dry spell from the field.
Two possessions later, Kirkland fed freshman forward Heather Coombs (/Trumbull) (Trumbull, CT) on the break for a hoop and the foul. The freshman knocked down the free throw at the 6:27 mark to shift Fairleigh Dickinson ahead by double-digits at 20-10.
Suckow dropped in five points inside of 22 seconds, banging a trey from the right wing and then converting a driving lay-in at 5:39, pushing the score to 25-12.
The Knights owned a 15-point lead at the break, 33-18, pressuring Wagner into 20 turnovers, in addition to swiping 14 steals. Head Coach Sandy Gordon's squad was 4-of-7 from downtown, while racking up 12 assists.
FDU opened the second-half on a 4-0 run, fueled by two hoops inside by Walkling, as the Knights took its largest lead of the night at 19 points. The Seahawks (2-26, 2-16 NEC) responded by ripping off a 22-10 run, fueled by two three-pointers by guard Joy Gallagher (Hazleton, PA), who notched 14 points.
Wagner guard Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL) hit a free throw to tie the contest at 45-45, as the sophomore scored a team-high 18 points. Freshman forward Lauren Coombs (/Trumbull) (Trumbull, CT) nailed a shot from long-range with 7:12 remaining to shift the Knights back on top, 48-46.
Walkling netted two baskets in the closing minutes and freshman forward Katie Warehime (Littlestown, PA/Littlestown) (Littlestown, PA) splashed home a jumper from the baseline with 22 seconds left to secure the win.
"It wasn't pretty, but we made shots when we had to," Gordon said. "Now we have some momentum riding into the (NEC) tournament. We're real positive in the fact we're on a three-game winning streak and reached 10 wins."
The Knights travel to top-seeded Sacred Heart at a tentative tip-off time of 4:00 pm on Saturday, March 4 for the quarterfinal round of the NEC Tournament.
"We'll travel up there a different team than we were a week ago (on Feb. 20)," Gordon said. "Our staff will construct a game plan and we'll give it out best effort. It's tournament time - it's all about upsets."
