Mercedez Walker (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) flashed out to the perimeter and swished a 19-footer from the left baseline with 37 seconds remaining to lift the Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team to a 54-51 victory versus visiting Wagner College, Saturday, Jan. 26. The senior center's field goal broke a 51-51 tie, as the Knights improved to 4-4 in the Northeast Conference and 8-11 overall.
Senior forward Jennifer Walkling (Westminster, MD/Westminster) (Westminster, MD/Westminster) recorded her fifth double-double of the season, going for 20 points and 14 rebounds. It was her seventh 20-point performance of the season, while the veteran also dished out a season-best five assists.
The freshmen backcourt duo of Jenna Strich (Brick, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) and Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) earned starting nods. Strich canned a trio of three-pointers, en route to 12 points. Mayrose hauled down a career-high 10 boards in her first collegiate start.
Wagner (2-16 overall, 0-7 NEC) sophomore guard John'a Poole (Middle River, MD/Eastern Tech) paced the Seahawks with 16 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the floor.
“They are a solid team and we held on in the second-half with our defense and rebounding,” Head Coach Peter Cinella said. “Mercedez hit a huge shot for us and Mayrose grabbed two critical rebounds in the final minute.”
Fairleigh Dickinson opened the afternoon on a 10-0 run, punctuated by back-to-back three-balls by senior guard Shanay Freeman (Laurelton, NY/Towsend Harris) (Laurelton, NY/Towsend Harris) and Strich. Freeman finished with seven points and six rebounds.
After holding Wagner to one field goal in the game's first four minutes, the Seahawks put together a 10-2 response. Senior guard Chelsey Bunyer (Shannon, IL/Eastland) gave the visitors their first lead of the contest, 18-17, following a jumper at the 9:56 mark.
Freeman halted an 8:21 drought from the field with a pull-up jumper to knot the game, 20-20. However, FDU hit the break trailing, 28-26. Despite an advantage on the glass ? as well as Strich scoring nine points, and Walkling eight ? the Knights struggled to overcome 12 first-half turnovers.
Strich struck from downtown to open the final 20 minutes, triggering a 7-0 surge. After failing to notch a bucket for the half's first five minutes, Wagner regained the lead. Mayrose answered by connecting from behind the arc, as FDU jumped ahead, 36-35 with 12:22 remaining.
Walkling ultimately poured in 10 points during a string of 13 for the Knights. Guard Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) provided a spark off the bench, tallying three assists. The freshman swiped a pass at half-court and converted an easy deuce to open up a 49-43 contest at the 4:42 mark.
Up until Walker's game-winning shot, Wagner had engineered an 8-2 run to tie the game, 51-51.
FDU travels to Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ at 7:00 p.m., Monday, Jan. 28. The game represents the first match-up between the adversaries this season, with the newly founded Garden State Rivalry Series hardware at stake.
