The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team defeated Yale, 59-57, in a game that came down to the wire at the John J. Lee Amphitheater on December 6. With the big win the Knights improve to 4-4 on the season. The Bulldogs extend their losing streak to six games with a 1-6 overall record. The Knights were led by junior Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) who came off the bench and scored 16 points.
Senior Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) and senior Jordan Sykes (Avalon, NJ/Holy Spirit) made their first appearances in the starting line-up in Head Coach Pete Cinella's attempt to make up for losses in the Knights' last two outings.
FDU won the first possession giving way for two points from junior Esther Wallace (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central). Yale responded quickly with a three-pointer from sophomore Allie Messimer. The Bulldogs forced a turnover and capitalized, taking a 5-2 lead at the 18-minute mark.
Junior Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) sank one-of-two free throws and nailed a three off a Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) assist to bring the Knights within one point with 15 minutes remaining in the half.
Yale quickly responded with another three, their 3rd consecutive shot from beyond the arc. Yale took a bigger lead on another Messimer layup and two made free-throws from freshman Amanda Tyson.
Mayrose beat a tough Bulldog defense to sink a layup bringing the score to 17-9 with 10:45 to go in the half. Redshirt freshman Danielle Pankey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) made two free-throws before Saunders made two consecutive jump shots to bring the score to 17-15 with 7:50 remaining.
FDU and Yale traded possessions, each adding two points before Wallace sank her third basket of the night and sparked a Knight's run with 4:45 to go in the half.
Saunders added another three points with three minutes remaining to bring the score to 23-22 in favor of Yale. The Bulldog's Verena Lehner made one-of-two free throws to increase Yale's lead to two points. Laury grabbed her second steal and made a fast-break lay up to tie the game at24 with 1:55 remaining.
Junior Amy Longo (Pittsburgh, PA/North Catholic) nailed a huge three-pointer for the Knights, taking the lead 27-24 at 1:45. Yale made it to the free-throw line but made only one-of-two shots.
A steal and layup from Alannah Driscoll-Sbar (Northampton, MA/Northampton) added two points before Sykes brought the lead to 31-25. With seconds left in the half Yale missed a jump shot giving the Knights the last possession of the half. Driscoll-Sbar sank one last layup at the buzzer to give the Knights a 33-35 lead at the half.
The Bulldogs began the half with a made jump shot from freshman Janna Graf and two made free-throws from Mady Gobrect. Laury responded with one made free-throw and a big three-pointer to bring the Knight's total to 37 points.
The Knights took a ten point lead with help from two more points from Saunders, four more from Laury and two from Driscoll-Sbar. With 14:50 remaining in the game, FDU held the advantage, 45-35.
Driscoll-Sbar added another big three and a layup brining the Knights' lead to 50-37 with 12 minutes remaining in the game. Graf attempted to bring the Bulldogs closer but Pankey responded quickly with two more points to keep the lead at 13 points.
FDU and Yale traded possessions through the ninth minute mark with the Knights maintaining the big lead. With eight minutes remaining the Knights held the advantage, 56-42.
With five minutes remaining Yale's 31 grabbed a steal and dished it out to Gobrect for two. Saunders responded with two for the Knights, keeping the lead at 10 points.
Michelle Cashen added two more for the Bulldogs, cutting the deficit to eight points with four minutes remaining.
Yale sophomore Aarica West nailed a three-pointer with 2:40 remaining to cut the lead to five points. Gobrect added two points on free-throws to bring the Bulldogs within three points. Gobrect connected for another two points before forcing a turnover to give the Bulldogs the ball with 55 seconds remaining.
FDU took possession with 53.4 seconds to go. Yale won a defensive rebound but lost control of the ball. Laury picked it up and was fouled quickly, sinking one-of-two free throws to give the Knights a two point lead. With 14.2 seconds to go Yale had possession and called a time out. FDU's tough defense was enough to stop Yale's last shot and take the win, 59-57.
FDU was led by 16 points from Saunders, 13 from Laury and 11 from Driscoll-Sbar. The Knights shot 42% from the field, 29% from beyond the arc and 58% from the line. FDU also out-rebounded Yale, 38-36.
"It was an overall great team defensive effort," said Cinella. "Esther Wallace (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) got in middle of defense and blocked up the paint."
"We had great off-the-bench production from a number of different people, he added."
The Knights are back in action on Thursday, December 9 when they take on NEC foe, Bryant in the women's conference opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm.
