The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team lost, 66-59, versus Lafayette College in Easton, PA, Tuesday, Jan. 8. Despite a second-straight double-double (a game-high 19 points and 12 boards) by senior forward Jennifer Walkling (Westminster, MD/Westminster) (Westminster, MD), the Knights slipped to 5-9 overall.
Lafayette moved to 8-7, as junior guard Cristin Zavocki (Springfield, NJ) scored a team-best 17 points. Senior forward Vanessa Van De Venter (Tannersville, PA) added 13 and junior guard Jessica Spicer (Bloomington, IL) recorded 12.
Senior guard Shanay Freeman (Laurelton, NY/Towsend Harris) (Laurelton, NY) finished with nine points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Christy Altamirano (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) (Bayonne, NJ) notched six points, five boards and three assists.
FDU opened the game on a 4-0 run ? all scored by Walkling. Lafayette jumped ahead, 7-6, with Van De Venter accounting for all of her team's first seven points. On the ensuing possession, Freeman popped a three-ball from the left wing to regain the Knights' lead, 9-7, at the 14:22 mark.
Altamirano converted an offensive put-back. Freshman guard Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) (Trenton, NJ) penetrated the paint and kicked out to Freeman at the right elbow for a jumper. The Leopards' Zavocki connected from downtown with 9:09 remaining, cutting the deficit to 15-14.
Fairleigh Dickinson's switch to zone out of a timeout forced a turnover. At the other end, Walkling spun off the left block to halt a 5-0 Lafayette spurt and retake a one-point advantage, 17-16.
The Leopards tallied 15-straight ? highlighted by a trey from Spicer and an old-fashioned three-point play by Van de Venter early in the push ? to hit the break up, 31-17.
The Knights were held scoreless over the final 7:12 of the first-half. Walkling had eight points and five rebounds at intermission, while Van De Venter registered 10. FDU only shot 25% from the field.
Junior guard Nasim Ahmadzadeh (Uppsala, Sweden/Lofstromsgymnasium) (Uppsala, Sweden) came off the bench to spark an 11-2 rally with a long deuce ? part of six second-half points. Walking added three the hard way, in addition to a pair of foul shots by junior center Shenika Chang (New York, NY/Park West) (New York, NY), to create a 42-32 contest at the 13:15 mark.
Walkling dropped in a hoop despite being fouled and cashed in at the charity stripe with 10:48 left, drawing to a seven-point hole, 46-39. Zavocki responded by hitting from behind the arc and regain a double-digit advantage, 50-39.
Freshman guard Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) (Freehold, NJ) stole an inbounds pass and Freeman notched a lay-in. The rookie took a tough charge on the defensive end, as FDU would regain possession. Saunders capitalized with a trio of slashing buckets ? ultimately bringing things to 62-56 in the final minute ? en route to logging nine second-half points
“We did a great job, once again, battling back in the second-half,” Head Coach Peter Cinella said. “We did a pretty decent job rebounding the ball. The team just needs to be more consistent in both halves.”
FDU hosts St. Francis College (NY) at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 12, with the men's squad taking on the Terriers at 7:00 p.m.
