The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team made its 2008-09 debut in victorious fashion, Monday, Nov. 17 versus visiting Bryant University (1-1) at the Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ. Sophomore forward Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) (Freehold, NJ) went for a career-high 15 points during a team-high 35 minutes of court time, as the Knights collected a 59-51 decision.
Junior forward Christy Altamirano (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) (Bayonne, NJ) poured in 20 points, coupled with nine rebounds, while freshman center Erica McKeithan (Newport News, VA/Heritage) (Newport News, VA) quietly contributed nine rips through 33 minutes. Mayrose coupled her scoring stat line with eight rebounds and matched a pair of career-bests with three assists, and three steals.
“I'm most proud of how we really dug in defensively and kept our turnovers low,” Head Coach Peter Cinella said. “We were pretty sharp handling the ball. Christy and Alyssa did a great job scoring, but equally important was how they defended Bryant's key players and effectively rebounded the ball.”
Freshman guard Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) (Orange, NJ) ? who finished with 10 points and five rebounds ? registered FDU's first bucket of the season, popping a 10-foot pull-up at the 19:02 mark to put the Knights up, 2-0. The squads exchanged field goals, before Bryant junior forward Jaime Campbell's (Springfield, MA) jumper knotted things, 8-8, with 12:59 remaining.
Bulldogs junior guard Courtney Schermerhorn (Lowell, MA) drained a three-pointer with 7:24 left, propelling Bryant to its first lead of the night, 15-13. Altamirano then responded with back-to-back baskets.
Fairleigh Dickinson senior guard Nasim Ahmadzadeh (Uppsala, Sweden/Lofstromsgymnasium) (Uppsala, Sweden) capitalized on a set play and stormed around a screen at the 2:36 mark, banking home a left-handed lay-in. Bryant freshman guard Shannon Wood (Gorham, ME) answered with a trifecta 18 seconds later, bringing the count to 24 all.
The Knights strung together an 8-2 run to usher in halftime, including six-straight courtesy of Mayrose. FDU held a 32-26 advantage at the break, by virtue of intense ball pressure. Cinella mixed in a press, in conjunction with a steady strategy of substitutions, en route to forcing the Bulldogs to commit 16 turnovers during the initial 20 minutes. Bryant kept the margin in check by dominating the glass to a tune of 29-15.
FDU's defense continued to clamp down in the second stanza, limiting the visitors to one field goal during a span of 9:08 and no points during the first 4:46 of the half. During that stretch, Altamirano extended the Knights' stronghold to 15 points, for a second time, 43-28.
With 10:52 left in the contest, freshman guard Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, MA) connected from downtown to cut deficit to 10 points. Cowen highlighted a 10-0 spurt with a trio of free throws, following a foul from behind the arc. Fairleigh Dickinson junior guard Jordan Sykes (Avalon, NJ/Holy Spirit) (Avalon, NJ) responded by dishing to Altamirano in the post, who turned to drop in a deuce and halt a 2:34 scoring drought. Sykes notched a game-high five assists in her first action in over 20 months.
After the lead was brought back to single digits, things moved to 48-38 ? in favor of Cinella's squad ? after Mayrose grabbed a board and pioneered a fast break. She lobbed a pass to a streaking Laury, who recorded the hoop and the foul at the 5:57 mark. Laury swished the ensuing chance at the charity stripe.
No Bryant student-athlete scored more than eight points on the night, while the entire squad shot only 18.4% from the floor during the second half. They ultimately coughed the ball up 23 times. Sophomore forward Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, NY) hauled down a game-best 12 rebounds, with junior forward Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, MA) grabbing nine, en route to holding a 60-49 advantage on the boards.
The Knights host Lehigh University at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19 in Hackensack ? their second appearance amidst a three-game home stand.
