The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team fell to Northeast Conference opponent, Sacred Heart University, 65-39, Friday night at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ. The loss ended the Knight's six game win-streak that dated back to December 6. The Knights drop to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the NEC, while the Pioneers advance to 9-5 overall and 3-0 in the conference.
Sacred Heart came out strong, winning the tip-off and never looking back. After jumping to a 7-0 lead in the first four minutes, the Pioneers held the Knights scoreless for eight minutes. Sacred Heart sparked a 17-point run midway through the half to extend their lead to 26-6 with 4:33 remaining.
Freshman Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) (Aurora, ON/Cardinal Carter Catholic) ended the Knights' draught with a good jump-shot with 4:12 to go in the game. Junior Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic) forced an SHU turnover in what looked to be a game-changing play.
Amy Longo (Pittsburgh, PA/North Catholic) (Pittsburgh, PA/North Catholic) sank a three-pointer with three minutes remaining to bring the Knight's total to 11 points but it would not be enough to catch the Pioneers.
The Knights went into the break trailing 32-15.
Fairleigh Dickinson traded points in the first minutes of the second half, elevating the pace of the game. With 10:55 to go in the game, Sacred Heart sophomore Morgan Merriman hit a jump-shot to extend the Pioneer's lead to 21 points and spark another Sacred Heart run.
The Pioneers extended their lead to 30 points with 6:21 left in the game with help from 10 points from Merriman and 15 from junior Callan Taylor. Taylor added 10 rebounds to her stat line to record her fifth double-double of the season.
The Knights struggled from the field as they shot only 24.0 percent, including 4-of-12 from three-point range. FDU was also out-rebounded 43-39.
FDU was led by Saunders who had nine points and three rebounds. Junior Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) (Orange, NJ/Orange) added eight points and a season-high five rebounds. Laury also had an assist and a season-high four steals.
The FDU women's basketball team has only two days off before hosting NEC opponent Quinnipiac on Monday, January 10. Tip-off against the Bobcats is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
