The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team suffered its second straight loss to NEC and in-state rival Monmouth, 59-49, at the Multipurpose Athletic Center in West Long Branch, NJ. The Hawks improve to 12-11 (7-5 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 6-17 (2-10 NEC) overall.
Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Knights. She also grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team on the glass. Esther Wallace (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) added 10 points, which tied her career high. She also pulled down five rebounds and set a career-high with five blocks. Jenna Strich chipped in eight points and also grabbed five rebounds.
With the Hawks striking first on a three-pointer, Alyssa Mayrose (Freehold, NJ/Freehold)'s pretty assist to Wallace put the Knights on the board.
Down 8-4, the Knights scored two straight baskets to tie the game, 8-8. After the Hawks went back up two, Laury knocked down a short jumper in the lane to tie the game back up.
Monmouth then scored five unanswered points to take a 15-10 lead. However, Strich's jumper in the lane started a run of six straight points scored by the Knights. The Knights took the lead, 16-15, when Laury stole the ball and took it coast-to-coast for the easy layup.
The Hawks answered with a three-pointer to regain the lead, 18-16, and would lead the rest of the first half.
Monmouth extended its lead to six points twice, with the Knights cutting the lead to four on two separate occasions.
After Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) knocked down a jumper in the lane, the Hawks scored right before the half to take a 28-22 lead into halftime.
Laury led the Knights in the first half with 10 points. She also led the team on the glass in the first half as she pulled down five rebounds. Defensively, Laury had two steals and Wallace blocked four shots.
The Knights shot 44 percent (11-for-25) from the field in the first half, while the Hawks shot 40 percent (10-for-25). The Hawks out-rebounded the Knights, 17-15, in the first half and forced eight turnovers, while only turning the ball over seven times.
Laury scored a layup to start the second-half scoring for both teams. The Hawks then scored the next four points to take a 32-24 lead, with 18:49 to go.
After Mayrose scored on a backdoor layup, the Hawks answered with a three-pointer to go up nine, 36-25. The Knights then scored the next four on a Wallace free throw and an old-fashion three-point play by Laury.
With the Hawks now up 35-30, they scored the next five points to go up, 40-30.
Strich's two free throws started a 10-0 run by the Knights to tie the game, 40-40, with 8:39 to go in the game. The Hawks failed to score for almost seven minutes as the Knights got back into the game.
During the run, Laury converted her second three-point play of the half. Wallace was fouled with the Knights down, 40-39. She stepped to the free throw line to give the Knights the lead but only made one free throw to tie the game at 40.
Monmouth responded by scoring 10 unanswered points of its own to take a 50-40 lead. The run lasted 6:20 before the Knights scored again on a free throw by Saunders, with 2:19 to go.
The Knights never got closer, and the Hawks won the game, 59-49.
The Knights struggled shooting the ball in the second half and finished the game shooting 36.5 percent (19-for-52). The Hawks shot better in the second half and finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (20-for-47).
The Hawks won the rebounding battle, out-rebounding the Knights, 42-29. However, the Knights only turned the ball over 11 times and forced 15 turnovers by the Hawks.
"We did a good job battling back to tie the game at 40-40," said Head Coach Pete Cinella. We had a few good chances to take the lead. We have to keep focus on battling hard."
"We did a better job of getting the ball inside. Esther Wallace (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) stepped up and gave us good production at the center spot. We need her to keep developing."
Adriana Allen came off the bench to lead the Hawks with 15 points. Chanel Gomez also came off the bench to add 12 points and pull down a game-high eight rebounds. Alysha Womack chipped in 11 points for the Hawks.
The Knights return to action Thursday, Feb. 11, for a late-afternoon start at home versus Wagner. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m.
