The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team fell Thursday evening to Sacred Heart, 55-33, at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, CT. The Pioneers improve to 19-9 (12-5 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 9-19 (5-12 NEC) overall.
Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) led the Knights with 14 points. Esther Wallace (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) tied a career high with nine rebounds to lead the squad on the boards.
Laury's pull-up jumper put the Knights up, 2-0. The Pioneers responded with the next seven points to take a 7-2 lead.
The Knights' scoring drought ended when Laury hit a one-handed runner off the glass with the shot clock winding down.
The Pioneers then stretched their lead back to four points before Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) scored the next four points for the Knights to tie the game at nine, with 14:58 to go in the first half.
After the Pioneers went back up two, Alannah Driscoll-Sbar (Northampton, MA/Northampton) scored on a short jumper to put the Knights even.
Once again, the Pioneers stretched their lead back to four before the Knights scored the next three points to cut the lead to 15-14.
Over the final 8:18 of the first half, the Pioneers outscored the Knights, 13-4, to take a 28-18 lead into halftime. Laury was able to cut the lead to 21-16 during the run as she knocked down a five-foot pull-up jumper after recording a steal. That was the closest the Knights would get the rest of the half.
Laury led the Knights in the first half with eight points, three rebounds, and two steals. As a team, the Knights recorded nine steals. Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) and Jenna Strich each had two steals apiece.
Both teams struggled shooting the basketball in the first half. The Knights only shot 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from the floor, including 0-for-6 from behind-the-arc. The Pioneers shot 36.7 percent (11-for-30) from the field. However, they knocked down 4-of-12 from three-point range.
Sacred Heart out-rebounded the Knights, 23-15, in the first half to win the first-half rebounding battle.
The Pioneers scored the first four points of the second half before Laury found Wallace for an easy layup to cut the lead to 32-20.
With 12:51 to go in the game, Strich knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing to cut the lead to 37-26.
The Pioneers scored the next five points to take a 16-point before Strich's old-fashion three-point play cut the lead to 42-29.
The Pioneers then scored the next 11 points to take their largest lead of the game, 53-29, with 4:34 to go.
Laury ended the scoring drought for the Knights with four straight points, but the Pioneers were the team who came away with the victory, 55-33.
The Knights struggled from the field as they finished the game shooting 26 percent (13-for-50) from the field, including 1-for-13 from three-point range. They also turned the ball over 24 times. However, the Knights won the rebounding battle for the second straight game and sixth time this season as they out-rebounded the Pioneers, 41-39.
The Pioneers also struggled from the floor, shooting 34.4 percent (21-for-61). However, they only turned the ball over 16 times.
Callan Taylor led the Pioneers with a double-double as she scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. She went 4-for-6 from three-point range. Alisa Apo added 11 points.
The Knights return home on Saturday to play their home and regular season finale versus Quinnipiac. The NEC matchup is scheduled to tip-off at 5:00 p.m.
