The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team was downed, 81-45, Saturday, Dec. 6 versus home-standing Sacred Heart University at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, CT. In their 2008-09 Northeast Conference debut, the Knights (1-5) were paced by freshman guard Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange)'s game-high 17 points.
The Pioneers (2-5 overall, 1-0 NEC) ? who had 12 student-athletes score on the afternoon ? opened with five-consecutive points. Junior guard Jordan Sykes (Avalon, NJ/Holy Spirit) got FDU on the board with a three-ball at the 17:01 mark. However, sophomore guard Alisa Apo rattled off seven-straight for Sacred Heart.
Forward Alexa Johnson (Enosburg Falls, VT/Enosburg Falls) came off the bench to end a 7:12 scoreless drought. The freshman hit the offensive glass and converted the put-back to trigger a 10-0 response for the Knights. Junior forward Christy Altamirano (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) and Laury highlighted the surge with a pair of efforts from downtown, en route to gaining Fairleigh Dickinson's first lead, 13-12, with 7:25 remaining.
"We got off to a really good start and I felt good about our position at 13-12," Head Coach Peter Cinella said. "Then they started to go inside, and from that point they controlled the game. Mariyah did a great job attacking the basket in the second half."
Senior center Kaitlin Sowinski struck for back-to-back buckets to spark a 9-0 response for the Pioneers. The two teams then exchanged opportunities in transition, but SHU ultimately finished the final 7:07 of the half on a 26-10 push.
Apo had 12 by the break, flanked by eight points and five rebounds courtesy of Sowinski. Laury tallied seven, as FDU trailed, 38-23. Sacred Heart was fueled by an 11-board advantage and a plus-nine edge in second chance points.
A quartet of successful conversions by Laury at the charity stripe made it a 46-29 deficit five minutes into the second stanza. The margin soon stretched to more than 20, following nine-straight by the Pioneers.
Senior guard Nasim Ahmadzadeh (Uppsala, Sweden/Lofstromsgymnasium) scored all six of her points in the second half.
Apo's 16 points led Sacred Heart, while Sowinski finished with 10 points and six rips. Senior guards Stephanie Ryan and Liz Gruber each recorded 11 points.
Fairleigh Dickinson travels to West Long Branch, NJ to take on Monmouth University at 5:00 p.m., Monday, Dec. 8. The first game of the annual Garden State Rivalry Series will be televised on MSG.
