The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team was defeated by Robert Morris on Thursday night, 69-44, in an NEC home match up in Stratis Arena at the Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ. The Colonials improve to 11-7 (6-1 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 5-13 (1-6 NEC) overall.
Sophomore Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) led the Knights with 16 points and five assists. Junior Jenna Strich came off the bench to add nine points on 3-for-7 shooting from behind the arc. Junior Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) chipped in eight points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. She also had three steals to lead the team.
The Colonials jumped out to a 5-0 lead before sophomore Erica McKeithan (Newport News, VA/Heritage)'s 15 foot jumper found the bottom of the net to put the Knights on the board.
Down 10-2, Laury converted a three-point play the old fashion way to cut the lead to 10-5.
After the Colonials went up 12-5, the Knights outscored Robert Morris, 8-3, on back to back three pointers by Strich and Longo. Laury's two free throws capped the mini-run, and the Knights found themselves down by two, 15-13.
The Colonials answered with 12 unanswered points to go up 27-13 with 6:32 to go in the first half. Mayrose's three-pointer from the left corner ended the FDU scoring drought and cut the lead to 27-16.
The Colonials outscored the Knights over the final 4:06 of the first half, 10-8, to take a 37-23 halftime lead.
Laury led the Knights in the first half with seven points and four assists.
The Knights only shot 29.6 percent (8-for-27) from the field. On the other side, the Colonials shot 44.4 percent (16-for-36). The Colonials also out-rebounded the Knights in the first half, 25-16.
Both teams took care of the basketball in the first half as the two teams combined for eight turnovers. The Knights turned it over six times, while the Colonials showed excellent ball security and turned the ball over twice.
Robert Morris held a huge first-half advantage in the paint, as they outscored FDU, 24-4 down low.
The Knights scored the first five points of the second half on Laury's three-pointer from the right wing and two free throws by Mayrose to cut the deficit to 37-28 in the first 90 seconds of the second half.
Robert Morris was able to stretch its lead back out to 14 points, 47-33, with 15:01 left in the game. Laury's layup and Mayrose's offensive put back placed the Knights back within ten at 47-37. After a basket by the Colonials, Strich's three from the left wing cut the lead back below double-digits, 49-40 with 12:16 to go.
Over the final 12:16 of the game minutes, the Colonials outscored the Knights, 20-4, including 19 unanswered points to start the run, to coast to the 69-44 victory.
Offensively the Knights could not get anything going, as they shot 25.4 percent (15-59) from the field. The Colonials matched their first-half percentage in the second half, as they finished the game shooting 44.4 percent (28-for-63).
Robert Morris out-rebounded the Knights in the second half by five, and ended the game with a 48-34 advantage on the glass. The Colonials also finished with a 40-14 advantage with points scored in the paint. Robert Morris also won the turnover battle as they only turned the ball over 13 times. FDU gave the ball up 16 times.
"Robert Morris completely dominated us on the boards." said Head Coach Pete Cinella. "We couldn't get anything going. We worked on it the last two days in practice."
Angela Pace recorded a double-double to lead the Colonials. She led all scorers and rebounders with 17 points and 13 rebounds. She also dished out a game-high six assists. Kristine Silaraja added 11 points for Robert Morris.
The Knights are back in action Saturday evening as they look to avenge last weekend's close road loss versus St. Francis (PA). Tip-off for the game versus the Red Flash is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in Stratis Arena at the Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ.
