In the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament, the Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team lost, 62-51, against No. 2 Central Connecticut State University, Saturday, March 7 in Fairfield, CT. On a neutral court at Sacred Heart University, the seventh-seeded Knights were fueled by senior center Shenika Chang (New York, NY/Park West)'s career-high 20 points.
Chang posted her third double-double of the season, adding 12 rebounds to her stat line while doubling her previous high-scoring productivity. The senior was dominant, dropping-in a career-best 10 field goals. Junior guard Jordan Sykes (Avalon, NJ/Holy Spirit) added 12 points, with sophomore swing guard Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold), who drew four charges, finishing with 10 points, four boards, and three dimes.
The Knights (9-9 NEC) finished the season at 10-20 overall and only notched two field goals over the game's final 7:17 (both came in the game's final 40 seconds). Freshman forward Amy Longo (Pittsburgh, PA/North Catholic) made her first collegiate start and tallied a career-best 30 minutes of floor time.
Fairleigh Dickinson was beaten on the boards to a tune of 46-32. And despite capitalizing for 15 points off turnovers, could not overcome a 20-0 deficit in bench scoring.
“I'm very proud of this team; how we battled and controlled the tempo,” Head Coach Peter Cinella said. “Shenika had by far the best game of her entire career. She did it all tonight; scoring, rebounding, defense ? what a way to finish a career.”
The Blue Devils ? who secured their seed with a 12-6 clip versus league foes ? improved to 17-12 overall. Seven players registered at least six points, paced by sophomore forwards Kerrianne Dugan and Leanne Crockett's 11 points a piece. Sophomore forward Justina Udenze amassed 10 rebounds.
Sykes crossed up her defender and swished a one-handed runner to open the night's scoring. CCSU answered with a pair of baskets, before freshman guard Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) rattled home an off-balanced baseline jumper.
Central Connecticut went up five points, prior to Longo nailing a three-ball at the 11:22 mark to cut it to an 11-10 contest. The margin was again shifted to five when Mayrose skipped a pass into the right block for Chang.
Blue Devils' senior guard Jhanay Harris took advantage of a brief FDU stint in zone defense and canned an open trey, thus opening up a seven-point advantage. The Knights responded with six points over three-consecutive possessions, with Chang starting the push with an off-glass effort. Mayrose sank a backdoor lay-in ? with Sykes picking up the assist ? followed by Chang capping things with an offensive put-back. Fairleigh Dickinson ultimately trailed, 21-20, at the 3:44 juncture.
FDU switched to a 2-2-1 press to force a turnover and collect a quick deuce on a drive by Sykes. The floor general knocked down two at the charity stripe, and Cinella's squad trailed, 29-26, at the break.
Eight Central Connecticut student-athletes scored in the period, while two Knights carried the offensive load. Sykes recorded nine points, with Chang going for eight. Harris countered with six points, as the Blue Devils' bench held an 11-0 edge in bench scoring.
Chang backed down her defender to usher in the second half then Mayrose connected from downtown to knot the count at 31. Chang went to work on the interior, popping back-to-back turnarounds to push Fairleigh Dickinson ahead, 35-33, with 15:34 remaining.
CCSU rebutted with two field goals, with Mayrose stepping up to pulled the trigger on a long J. The Blue Devils took a four-point command, when Mayrose was slammed into ? resulting in the third player control foul the sophomore withstood on the evening. Two from at the line by Laury made a 42-40 hole at the 12:05 juncture.
Freshman forward Gabrielle Oglesby struck two-straight times for Central Connecticut down low to shift the score to 46-40. Chang halted a 5:08 field goal drought on her third attempt in the post ? each time corralling her own board. Chang forced home another attempt to slice it to two, but Oglesby once again penetrated right and went window. Mayrose proceeded to soar through the lane and convert a double-clutch lay-up.
“We were looking for a game in the low 50's,” Cinella said. “And we were right there with seven minutes left, but a bad spell of five minutes or so cost us. To Central Connecticut's credit, they hit big shots.”
Minutes later, CCSU jumped out on top, 55-46, via seven-consecutive points that were punctuated a second-chance three-pointer courtesy of Crockett. A 5-for-6 Blue Devils' showing from 15 feet ended Fairleigh Dickinson's upset bid.
The Knights return 12 of its 14 student-athletes who traveled with the squad. Chang and senior guard Nasim Ahmadzadeh (Uppsala, Sweden/Lofstromsgymnasium), both transfers, will graduate this spring.
