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HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team will look to snap a four-game Northeast Conference skid when it returns to Stratis Arena to host Central Connecticut State for the first of three consecutive home contests. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and will be played before the men's game between the two sides.

The Knights (8-11, 3-5 NEC) are coming off a 61-53 loss at Garden State rival Monmouth on Monday. Sophomore Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) recorded her 16th double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 13 points and collecting a game-high 11 rebounds, while swatting away a career-best five shots and recording two steals. Fellow classmate Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) added a season-high 10 points and tied her career highs in assists (6) and steals (4). Sophomores Tiffany Grant (Odenton, Md./Arundel) and Stephanie Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) each scored nine points, a career best for Grant, while junior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) chipped in eight points and eight rebounds.

Early in the first half, a put-back layup by Isaacs put FDU up 7-6 before 10 unanswered points by the Hawks gave the home team a 16-7 advantage with 10:39 remaining in the first half. The Knights responded with a 10-2 spurt as Livermore's 19-foot jumper cut the deficit to 18-17, but Monmouth would then close the half on an 8-1 run to go into halftime with a 26-18 lead.

FDU shot only 19.4 percent (6-of-31) over the first 20 minutes, while the Hawks connected on 9-of-26 shots (34.6 percent), including 3-of-7 from three-point range.

Four straight points by Monmouth to start the second half established its largest lead of the game at 30-18 before the Knights scored eight in a row to cut the deficit to 30-26, forcing a 30 second timeout by the Hawks with 17:10 to go in the contest.

Monmouth regrouped and eventually extended the lead back out to nine, 41-32, before a 13-3 run, capped by an Isaacs' three from the left wing, gave FDU a 45-44 lead with 6:26 remaining in the game.

The Hawks scored the next four points and led 48-45 at the 5:32 mark. Neither side scored over the next 2:42, as the Knights committed two turnovers, missed one shot and the front end of a one-and one during the stretch. Monmouth then extended its lead to six and never looked back, ending the game on a 17-8 run to earn the 61-53 victory.

FDU shot very well in the second half (44.8 percent) to finish the game shooting 31.7 percent (19-of-60). The Hawks also shot well over the final 20 minutes (46.2 percent) and ended the contest at 40.4 percent (21-of-52). The Knights made 2-of-8 from behind the arc, while Monmouth connected on 4-of-10.

At the free throw line, FDU sank 13-of-17, and the Hawks converted 15-of-21, including 7-of-8 by Gabby Singer over the final 56 seconds. Both sides grabbed 39 rebounds and combined for 16 blocks, with the Knights recording a season-high nine. FDU also forced 18 turnovers, with 12 steals, while giving the ball up 16 times.
 
Pankey leads FDU in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game, while scoring in double figures in 15 of 8 contests this season. Livermore is averaging 13.9 points and a team-high 11.7 rebounds per game, while shooting a team-best 46.2 percent (97-of-120) from the field. She has recorded 16 double-doubles in 19 games this season, which is tied for third in the country. Livermore's rebounding average is the eighth best in the nation.

The Blue Devils (11-8, 5-3 NEC), who were picked to finish eighth in the 12-team Northeast Conference, currently sit in a four-way tie for third place after losing at first-place Quinnipiac, 82-73, last Monday, snapping a five-game win streak.

CCSU went 6-5 in nonconference action before falling on the road at Robert Morris (65-48) and Saint Francis University (67-62) to start conference play. The Blue Devils reeled off five consecutive wins at home against Bryant (59-50), Sacred Heart (62-57 OT), Wagner (82-53), Mount St. Mary's (77-73 OT) and St. Francis Brooklyn (55-29) before losing at Quinnipiac.

CCSU is led by senior guard Jaclyn Babe, who is averaging 17.2 points per game, which ranks third in the NEC. She is shooting 43.8 percent (130-of-297) from the field, including a team-best 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from three-point range. Babe also leads the team in free throw shooting at 80.4 percent (45-of-56) and steals (59) to go along with 57 assists, which is the second most on the team.

Senior center Kirsten Daamen adds 9.3 points per game, while shooting a team-best 47.5 percent (75-of-158) from the field. She leads the team with 33 blocks and averages 5.1 rebounds per game. Junior guard Jessica Babe leads the Blue Devils in rebounding, averaging 6.9 rebounds per game, and assists with 79. She also chips in 8.6 points per game and has recorded the second-most steals (46).

The Knights and the Blue Devils will be meeting for the 32nd time in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1988-89 season. CCSU holds a 17-14 advantage, while the Knights have gone 3-7 under Head Coach Pete Cinella, including 2-2 at Stratis Arena. The Blue Devils won a thrilling game in New Britain last season, 51-49, in the only meeting of the season between the two sides on Jan. 28, 2012.

After trailing by as many as 16 points early in the first half, FDU battled back to cut the lead to single digits early in the second half.  With less than seven minutes remaining in the game, the Knights took their first lead of the day, 41-40. CCSU responded and took a six-point lead at 49-43 before Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) eventually tied the game at 49, on a pair of free throws, with 24 seconds left.

The Blue Devils' Lauren Arbogast knocked down the game-winning basket, with one second to go, to give the home team the two-point victory. Laury led the Knights with 15 points, while Livermore added 12 points and six rebounds.

Following the contest with CCSU, FDU will host Bryant at Stratis Arena on Monday, Feb. 4, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.