The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team fell to Quinnipiac on Monday night, 71-62, in an NEC matchup at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, CT. The Bobcats improve to 8-7 (3-1 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 5-10 (1-3 NEC) overall.
Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) led the Knights with 17 points. Alannah Driscoll-Sbar (Northampton, MA/Northampton) added 11 points, and Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) came off the bench to chip in 10 points and lead the squad on the glass with eight rebounds. Laury also dished out six assists to lead FDU. Defensively, Jenna Strich paced the Knights with four steals, while Laury and Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) each had three steals apiece.
The Bobcats jumped out to a quick lead at 12-4 in the game's first five minutes. The Knights cut the lead to 14-9 when Strich stole the ball and went coast to coast for an easy layup.
Driscoll-Sbar's three-pointer from the left wing cut the Bobcats lead down to 18-16 with 11:08 to go in the first half.
The Bobcats then scored five unanswered to points to go back up, 23-16. Amy Longo (Pittsburgh, PA/North Catholic)'s short jumper kept the Knights close at 23-19 with 4:58 to go in the first half.
The Bobcats then outscored the Knights, 8-4, over the final 3:46 of the first half to go into halftime with a 31-23 lead.
Laury led the Knights in the first half with six points. Driscoll-Sbar grabbed four rebounds to lead FDU on the boards. Strich had three steals to pace the Knights on the defensive side of the ball.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half. The Knights shot just 27 percent (9-for-33), while the Bobcats shot only 33 percent (10-for-30). FDU was also 2-for-10 from behind the arc, and Quinnipiac was 3-for-11 from three-point range. The Bobcats converted all eight free throw attempts, and the Knights made three of four, all by Erica McKeithan (Newport News, VA/Heritage).
Quinnipiac won the first-half rebounding battle, out-rebounding FDU, 26-19. Defensively, the Knights forced nine turnovers, including six steals. The squad only turned the ball over seven times.
The Knights were able to cut the lead to six on three different occasions during the first three minutes of the second half. Saunders knocked down a jumper to cut the lead to 35-29 with 17:19 to go in the game. That was the closest the Knights would get the rest of the game.
The Bobcats staged a 20-10 run over a seven minute stretch to take a commanding lead, 55-39, with 8:34 to go.
Driscoll-Sbar knocked down a three-pointer to give the Knights life, cutting the lead to 55-44. The Bobcats answered back and took their largest lead of the game, 64-47, with a little over four minutes to go in the game.
Mayrose converted back-to-back three-point plays to put the Knight down ten, 67-57, with 1:15 to go in the game.
Strich's trey from the left corner cut the Bobcats' lead to nine, 69-60, with a little over a minute to go. The Knights were unable to get closer, and the Bobcats took the 71-62 victory.
"Offensively, I thought we did a pretty good job. We were able to get some good shots." said Head Coach Pete Cinella. "Defensively, we gave them too many opportunities inside to make baskets."
"I was proud of the team for battling back to cut the lead to single digits in the final minute. We just couldn't get the steal to put us over the top."
After hot shooting over its last three games, FDU cooled off and only shot 35 percent for the game (21-for-60), but did improve on its first-half performance and shot 44 percent in the second half. Quinnipiac came into the game as the NEC's top field goal percentage defensive team.
The Bobcats shot 41 percent (26-for-63) for the game and won the rebounding battle, 47-36. Quinnipiac is also the NEC's top rebounding team.
Defensively, the Knights forced 16 turnovers and had 10 steals. The Knights only turned the ball over 15 times.
Courtney Kaminski led the Bobcats with 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Jacinda Dunbar added 12 points, all in the second half, and also grabbed seven rebounds. Ryann Sammons chipped in 11 points. Lailah Pratt led all rebounders with 10.
The Knights are back in action this Thursday, Jan. 14, at 5:00 p.m. for an NEC tilt at Robert Morris in Moon Township, PA.
