The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team fell to the Leopards of Lafayette College on December 4. With the loss the Knights' record falls to 3-4. The Leopards improve to 3-5. The Knights were led by senior Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) who had 11 points and eight rebounds. Junior captain Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) also added 11 points for FDU.
The Knights and Leopards traded possession three times before Lafayette started off the scoring with a three-pointer from Alicia Manning. Laury responded with a fast-break layup bringing the score to 3-2 with 17:33 remaining in the half.
Laury grabbed another layup under tough pressure from the Leopards helping the Knights take a 4-2 lead with 16:15 to go.
A steal from freshman Danielle Pankey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) led to a foul on her shot. After making the first shot Pankey missed the second but the offensive rebound was picked up by Mayrose. Mayrose dished the ball to Pankey who was fouled once again. Pankey sank both shots from the line giving the Knights a 7-3 lead.
The Knights took a ten-point lead by out-rebounding the Leopards and consistently making shots in critical scenarios. FDU out-rebounded Lafayette, 21-19 in the first half and shot 29% from the floor.
The Leopards responded to the Knight's with several big shots from Samantha Jordan, Sarah McGorry and Manning. With four minutes remaining FDU held a 22-19 advantage.
The Leopards had several chances to tie the score from the charity stripe but shot only 42.9% from the line in the first half.
FDU held onto the lead in the first half behind strong performances from the Knights defense in the last minutes of the half. The Knights went into the break with a 24-21 advantage.
The Leopards began the half with a quick three-pointer followed by a layup to take a 25-24 lead. Mayrose was charged with her third foul with 18:05 remaining, the Leopards took a two-point lead after making one of two free-throws.
Lafayette increased its free-throw percentage in the second half, shooting 2-for-3 from the line. The Leopards out-scored the Knights 6-0 in the first eight minutes of the second half. The Knights were out rebounded 12-7 in the same period of time.
FDU trailed 33-26 with 10 minutes remaining in the half when Head Coach Pete Cinella called a timeout.
Junior Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) sank a layup and was fouled. Mayrose grabbed the offensive rebound on the missed free-throw giving the Knights another possession. Esther Wallace (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) scored two off of an assist from Laury bringing the Knights within three points with 7:20 remaining.
The Knights' offense consistently challenged the Lafayette defense but was met with a quick response for every made bucket. The Leopards had outscored the Knights 24-7 with two minutes remaining in the game.
With less than two minutes to go the Knights went into a strategic full-court press. They held the Leopards to zero field goals, allowing only eight points from the charity stripe.
The Knights ultimately fell to the Leopards, 51-37. FDU was led by 11 points from both Mayrose and Laury as well as five points each from Pankey and senior captain Jordan Sykes (Avalon, NJ/Holy Spirit). Mayrose and junior Esther Wallace (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) shared the top rebounding stat with eight a piece. Wallace also added five blocks.
Lafayette was led by Downey who totaled 11 points and six boards. Senior captain LaKeisha Wright added 10 points and seven rebounds while freshman Danielle Fiacco and McGorry each added 11 boards for the Leopards.
"We got off to a great start, gaining a 12-point lead with eight minutes to go in the first half," said Cinella. "At that point we did not rebound enough and we couldn't find the open man."
The Knights return to action on Monday December 6 when they travel to New Haven, CT to take on the Bulldogs of Ivy League Yale. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm.
