The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team dominated Wagner College, 67-30, at the Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ, Saturday, Jan. 6. The Knights (4-8, 1-1 NEC) connected on five three's in the first-half and out-rebounded the Seahawks (1-12, 0-3 NEC) by 24 rips, en route to its largest margin of victory in nearly three years.
Freshman forward Christy Altamirano (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) paced FDU with her third double-double of the season, with two game-highs ? 16 points and 12 rebounds. Junior forward Jennifer Walkling (Westminster, MD/Westminster) (Westminster, MD/Westminster) added nine points and seven boards.
Freshman guard Jordan Sykes (Avalon, NJ/Holy Spirit) (Avalon, NJ/Holy Spirit) popped a trey, shifting the Knights in front, 7-1, just under three minutes after tip. Junior guard Shanay Freeman (Laurelton, NY/Towsend Harris) (Laurelton, NJ/Towsend Harris) followed suit from downtown with 15:52 remaining, opening up a 10-1 lead.
Fairleigh Dickinson took their first double-digit advantage of the afternoon, 19-7, at the 10:09 mark, on the strength of a three-ball by senior guard Gayle Coats (Richmond, VA/Gertrude) (Richmond, VA/St. Gertrude). Junior guard Megan Kirkland (Glen Allen, VA/Hermitage) (Glen Allen, VA/Hermitage) connected on a trifecta on the ensuing possession and the Knights held a 22-7 lead.
Senior forward Mercedez Walker (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) kept the offense rolling with a turnaround jumper from the right elbow. Junior forward Nikki Lockhart (Rochester, NY/Nazareth Academy) (Rochester, NY/Nazareth Academy) dropped in a lay-up, marking FDU's fourth-straight basket on an equal number of possessions.
The Knights increased the margin to 20 points, 30-10, with 4:49 remaining, following a give-and-go where sophomore forward Katie Warehime (Littlestown, PA/Littlestown) (Littletown, PA/Littlestown) lobbed a pass to Freeman (nine points, five rebounds and four steals) who splashed home the pull-up. Sykes (eight points) popped another three-pointer with 23 seconds left, as Fairleigh Dickinson ended the initial 20 minutes on a 7-0 run, en route to a 33-10 advantage at the break.
Walkling opened the scoring in the second-half with a deuce down low. Sykes sliced through the lane and banked-in a runner with 12:21 remaining and the count moved to 46-19.
Altamirano scored a transition bucket with slightly more than seven minutes left, keeping the Knights out in front, 54-23.
“This is the way we wanted to start the New Year ? it's conference time and we're 1-1,” Head Coach Sandy Gordon said. “We set the tone early on the defensive end and that got us going. Offensively, we had good ball movement which led to this great team win.”
Wagner was held to 10 field goals ? their lowest output in the program's 37 seasons of existence. Seahawks' guard Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL/Eastland) posted a team-high nine points.
The Knights travel to NEC defending champions Sacred Heart University at 7:00 p.m., Monday, Jan.8.
