Senior forward Jennifer Walkling (Westminster, MD/Westminster) (Westminster, MD/Westminster) knocked down a pair of free throws with :02.5 seconds remaining, as the Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team topped visiting Delaware State University, 58-57, Wednesday, Dec. 5 at the Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ.  Walkling poured in a career-high 25 points, in addition to tallying eight rebounds and four assists, as the Knights improved to 2-5 overall.

Sophomore forward Christy Altamirano (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) registered 13 points and five boards, while senior guard Shanay Freeman (Laurelton, NY/Towsend Harris) (Laurelton, NY/Towsend Harris) finished with seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

“We did a good job of jumping on top early and maintaining the momentum throughout the first- half,” Head Coach Peter Cinella said.  “We made some big plays down the stretch ? to out-rebound a team with their talent on the boards is a good sign for us.  The game was destined to be decided by whoever had the ball last.”

Senior center Mercedez Walker (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) popped a trey to open the contest, junior guard Nasim Ahmadzadeh (Uppsala, Sweden/Lofstromsgymnasium) (Uppsala, Sweden/Loftstromgymnasium/Frank Phillips College) followed suit from behind the arc and Walkling notched a deuce down low, as Fairleigh Dickinson went ahead, 8-1, 1:46 following tip-off.

Freeman slashed her way to the rack following a ball fake and senior center Nikki Lockhart (Rochester, NY/Nazareth Academy) (Rochester, NY/Nazareth Academy) converted an old-fashioned three-point play, to boost Knights to a 10-point margin, 15-5, with 14:27 remaining.

Delaware State (3-4) junior guard Keyhana Wakefield (Albany, NY/George Mason University) capped a 7-0 run with a pull-up, creating a 15-12 contest at the 12:03 mark.  FDU responded ? led by four buckets in five attempts by Altamirano ? en route to opening up its largest lead of the night, 27-16, with 6:38 left in the half.

The Knights hit the break ahead, 33-26, on the strength of 11 assists in the initial 20 minutes.  Walkling paced the offense with 12 points.

The Hornets recorded the first two hoops of the second stanza, ultimately closing to within one possession.  Freeman stepped into a three-ball from straight on with 15:46 remaining to spark a 7-1 push.  Minutes later, freshman guard Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) hit a floater in the lane, opening up a 43-34 margin.

DSU went ahead for the first time, 49-47, as sophomore forward Ashley Thompson (LaPlata, MD/Maurice McDonough) struck from downtown amidst a 9-0 surge.  Fairleigh Dickinson regained the advantage, 51-49, with Walkling brushing off a foul with 6:50 left to capitalize on an inbounds play under the backboard.

Delaware State went up by four ? its largest lead of the game ? before the Knights cut the deficit to one with 3:13 remaining.  Ahmadzadeh made an acrobatic save on the offensive baseline then the junior transfer flipped to Walkling on the block for the hoop and the foul.

With 1:03 left, Freeman netted a jumper with her foot on the line from the left wing, and FDU again trailed by one, 57-56.  The Knights had :03.5 seconds to work with on the offensive end, when Walkling was fouled on the inbounds pass.  The senior stepped to the line and sealed two things other than the victory: FDU's first home win of the year and a career scoring output.