Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest with Saint Peter's, 62-56, Wednesday night at Stratis Arena. With the victory, the Peahens improve to 1-7 on the season, while the Knights fall to 1-7 overall.

FDU led 38-36 at the 12:16 mark in the second half, but Saint Peter's would score nine in a row en route to a 13-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 49-40 with 6:19 remaining.

The Knights would answer with seven straight points of their own, as a putback from senior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) cut the deficit to 49-47 with 4:27 left to play.

Still trailing by two at 54-52 with 1:24 to go, FDU would see the Peahens take control with four straight points, before the visitors hung on for the six-point victory.

Both sides struggled from the field all game long, but Saint Peter's would shoot 37.0 percent (20-of-54), while the Knights connected on only 21.2 percent (14-of-66) of their attempts. Each team also recorded 47 rebounds, with the home team holding a 23-15 advantage on the offense glass, resulting in a commanding 24-7 lead in second-chance points.

The Peahens led from the opening tip for a majority of the first half and were ahead by as many as six at 21-15 with 8:47 remaining before halftime.

After a scoreless drought of over three minutes on both sides, a layup by sophomore Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) triggered a 6-0 run for FDU, as the Knights would tie the contest at 21-21 on freshman Valerie Oyakhilome (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst)'s bucket in the paint with 3:22 left in the opening half.

Junior Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) would give FDU its first lead of the game at 25-24 after her steal and layup. The Knights would eventually go into the locker room with a 27-26 advantage.

The opening minutes of the second half would see four ties and six lead changes, before Saint Peter's run proved to be the difference.

Cruz came off the bench to lead FDU with 18 points while grabbing a career-high seven rebounds to share team honors with sophomore Anastasia Williams (Central Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan), who also chipped in eight points. Andrades added 12 points, a game-high four assists and tied a season best in steals with four.

The Peahens' Aziza May led all scorers with 20 points, while Antonia Smith added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Hala Mostafa recorded eight rejections for Saint Peter's.

The Knights will have an eight-day layoff because of finals and will return to action Thursday, Dec. 19 when they travel to Newark, N.J. to face NJIT at 7 p.m.