The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team dominated visiting Central Connecticut State University, 65-44, Monday, Feb. 25 at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ. The Knights moved to .500 at home, while improving to 11-16 overall and 7-9 in the Northeast Conference.
Fairleigh Dickinson out-scored CCSU, 38-22, over the final 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the loss eliminated Blue Devils (4-23 overall, 3-13 NEC) from the NEC Tournament, despite a 12-point effort by sophomore guard P.J. Wade (Franklin County, VA).
Senior guard Megan Kirkland (Glen Allen, VA/Hermitage) (Glen Allen, VA) gave Head Coach Peter Cinella's offense a shot in the arm, dropping a career-high eight dimes, coupled with six points. Senior forward Jennifer Walkling (Westminster, MD/Westminster) (Westminster, MD) registered her second-straight double-double, and ninth of the year, chalking up three team-highs ? 16 points and 12 rebounds, in addition to four steals. Sophomore forward Christy Altamirano (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) (Bayonne, NJ) added 12 points and eight boards.
“Christy really stayed focus tonight, while the team was solid all-around,” Cinella said. “As a team we rebounded the ball well, and defensively, forced Central Connecticut into tough shots. Megan stepped up and ran the team like a true floor general.”
Senior center Mercedez Walker (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) (Stratford, CT) notched the night's first basket eight seconds after tip-off. Central Connecticut sophomore guard Emily Rose (Elkton, VA) knocked down an uncontested three at the 15:21 mark to go up, 5-4. Just over a minute later, Kirkland answered with a three-ball of her own to regain the advantage.
Walkling spun free for a deuce down low then accepted a bounce pass on the break from freshman guard Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) (Trenton, NJ, resulting in a lay-in.
With 11:16 remaining, Walkling pushed the rock back to the perimeter where freshman guard Jenna Strich (Brick, NJ) ? who tallied nine points ? stepped into a trey. Walkling capped FDU's 11-2 push, capitalizing down low by a feed from Saunders.
CCSU freshman forward Kerrianne Dugan (Waterford, CT) connected from downtown ? the second in as many possessions ? bringing things to 18-15 at the 10:05 mark. Strich popped another trey to thwart Central's rebuttal.
Walkling pump-faked in the paint and drove to the right block for two to end FDU's 6:19 drought from the field. Altamirano pushed the count to 27-20, after going off glass with a runner in the lane.
The Knights hit halftime ahead, 27-22, with Walkling leading all scorers with eight points. The two teams combined to jack up 24 three-pointers ? each shooting 25%.
Walker started the second stanza with an offensive put-back. Freeman drew attention via a dribble drive and dished to Walkling mid-air for two. Conversely, the Blue Devils kept pace via four points in the paint.
Kirkland sparked an eight-point outburst, en route to a double-digit lead, swishing a trey from the left corner. On the ensuing possession following a timeout, Kirkland fed junior center Shenika Chang (New York, NY/Park West) (New York, NY) for a bucket on the right block. Walkling extended the score to 39-28, following a trifecta at the 15:40 mark.
Wade struck from long-range to bring things back to single-digits, but Kirkland snatched an offensive board and delivered a cross-court pass to Strich for three with 12:49 remaining.
Dugan hop-stepped for a left-handed lay-up at the 7:25 mark, as Central Connecticut chipped away to a 49-38 deficit. The rookie finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. Two possessions later FDU milked the shot clock, with Saunders pulling-up from the right elbow and the buzzer blasting.
With 4:43 left, Altamirano made good on an old-fashioned three-point play ? a byproduct of a creative pass by Saunders. A pair of Altamirano deuces highlighted a 12-0 surge ? seven courtesy of the sophomore ? that secured FDU's victory.
Fairleigh Dickinson hosts St. Francis University (PA) at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, March 1. The game marks the Knights' final regular-season contest of the season, as well as Senior Day for five student-athletes.
