The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak this afternoon as they defeated Wagner, 66-54, in an NEC match-up in Stratis Arena at the Rothman Center. The Knights improve to 7-17 (3-10 NEC) on the season, while the Seahawks fall to 9-15 (6-7 NEC) overall.
Junior Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Knights. She knocked down four of seven shots from behind-the-arc. Redshirt sophomore Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) added 16 points and five rebounds. Freshman Alannah Driscoll-Sbar (Northampton, MA/Northampton) contributed with her first career double-double as she scored a career-high 12 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.
Mayrose scored the first five points of the game as she knocked down a three-pointer and a layup in the game's first two and a half minutes to put the Knights up, 5-0.
After the Seahawks scored the next four points, Driscoll-Sbar and Saunders knocked down back-to-back trey balls to put the Knights up seven, 11-4, with 15:06 to go in the first half.
Mayrose's second three-pointer of the half gave the Knights their largest lead of the half, 21-11, with 10:37 to go.
The Seahawks then outscored the Knights, 8-2 over the next 4:33 to cut the Knight's lead to 23-19.
The Knights responded with three straight baskets by sophomore Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange), Driscoll-Sbar, and Saunders to extend their lead back to double-digits at 29-19, with 3:37 to go in the first half.
Over the next 2:03, the Seahawks went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 31-28, with a little over a minute to go in the half.
Laury's old-fashion three-point play, with 0:47 seconds left in the first half, put the Knights back up six, 34-28. The Knights went into halftime with the six-point lead.
Saunders led the Knights in the first half with 12 points. Mayrose added 10 points. Driscoll-Sbar pulled down four rebounds to lead the team in the first half.
The Knights shot the ball very well in the first half, shooting 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the field They also connected on 41.7 percent (5-for-12) of their three-point attempts.
The Knights held the Seahawks to 35.5 percent (11-for-31) from the field and only one three-point field goal.
The Knights also out-rebounded the Seahawks, 18-17, in the first half. However, the Knights turned the ball over 12 times, while forcing 10 turnovers.
The Seahawks opened the second half with three straight points to cut the Knight's lead to 34-31, with 18:00 to go in the game. However, that was the closest the Seahawks would get the rest of the game as the Knights took control of the game from that point.
The Knights went on a 26-7 run, over the next 9:56, to take their largest lead of the game, 60-38. Junior Jenna Strich started the run with a three-pointer from the top of the key. Mayrose scored 14 of the team's 26 points during the stretch.
The Seahawks outscored the Knights by 10 points over the final 7:46 of the game to make the final score, 66-54, in favor of the Knights.
The Knights' shooting cooled off in the second half, but they still finished the game shooting 40 percent (22-for-55) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from three-point range.
Defensively, the Knights stifled the Seahawks all game. They held them to 31.7 percent (20-for-63) shooting from the field, including 18.2 percent (4-for-22) from behind-the-arc. The Knights also forced 22 turnovers and registered 11 steals.
The Seahawks out-rebounded the Knights, 41-38, to win the battle on the glass.
"We played a good all-around game," said Head Coach Pete Cinella. "We had solid balance as everyone contributed on defense. We shot the ball well from the field, including from three."
Marie Archambault came off the bench to score 17 points to lead the Seahawks. Megan Mahoney grabbed eight rebounds to lead the team.
The Knights have a quick-turnaround as they take on the Mountaineers of Mount St. Mary's on Saturday in Stratis Arena at the Rothman Center. The home tip-off is slated for 5:00 p.m.
