Box Score

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team snapped its three-game losing streak in exciting fashion Saturday afternoon with a 64-63 victory over LIU Brooklyn at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center in Northeast Conference play. With the victory, the Knights improve to 10-14 (5-8 NEC) on the season, while the Blackbirds fall to 5-18 (2-10 NEC) overall.

After forcing LIU Brooklyn into a shot clock violation with 29.8 seconds left, FDU called a full timeout to set up a potential game-tying or game-winning shot.

Junior Danielle Pankey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) missed a jumper but the rebound was knocked out of bounds by the Blackbirds with 12 seconds left, allowing the Knights to call their final timeout.

Out of the timeout, Pankey found sophomore Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) at the free throw line extended, and the 6'1” center drove the basket and made a layup, while getting fouled, to tie the game at 63. She then knocked down the free throw to complete the three-point play and give FDU a 64-63 lead with seven seconds remaining.

LIU immediately inbounded the ball and raced down the court. With 0.09 left on the clock, sophomore Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) was charged with a questionable foul, which was initially ruled for two free throws. However, after the officials met, the crew ruled the Blackbirds' Kelly Robinson would be shooting a one-and-one.

Robinson missed the front end, and sophomore Stephanie Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) corralled the rebound to seal the victory for the Knights.

“LIU played very well,” Head Coach Peter Cinella said. “We were fortunate to come away with a road victory.”

The biggest difference in the game was turnovers and second-chance points. FDU outscored LIU, 23-11, on points off turnovers, as the Knights turned the ball over 16 times, while forcing the Blackbirds into 22 miscues. FDU, who narrowly won the rebounding battle, 38-37, outscored LIU on second-chance points, 18-4, thanks to 19 offensive rebounds.

Livermore had a huge afternoon for the Knights, leading the way with a game-high 29 points on career highs in field goals made (11) and attempted (21). She also made 7-of-9 free throws, grabbed seven rebounds and swatted away four shots.

Pankey came off the bench to score 20 points and grab four rebounds, while sinking 9-of-14 free throws. Junior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) added six points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Andrades chipped in five points and a team-high six assists.

The Knights trailed by as many as 10 points in the early going before an 11-2 run, capped by an old-fashion three-point play from Pankey, cut the lead to 19-18 with 12:14 remaining before halftime.

LIU responded and expanded its lead back to seven at 29-22, but six straight points from FDU once again cut the lead to one, 29-28, with 3:39 left in the first half.

Still trailing by one, a put-back layup by Livermore gave the Knights their first lead of the game, 32-31, before a free throw by the Blackbirds tied the game at 32 going into halftime.

In the second half, neither side could gain a sizeable advantage, as five ties and six lead changes occurred over the final 20 minutes.

Another put-back layup by Livermore, with 11:50 remaining in the contest, gave the Knights a 46-44 advantage, but she picked up her third foul 17 seconds later, forcing her to go to the bench.

After four straight points from LIU put them up 48-46, Livermore reentered the contest, but the Blackbirds increased their lead to five at 54-49 with 8:08 left in the game.

Livermore responded for FDU with five straight points, on a three-point play and a layup, to tie the game at 54 before the Blackbirds regained a two-point lead.

Andrades found Crawford for a jumper at the free throw line, with one second left on the shot clock, to tie the game at 56, but the home team took control for a 61-57 lead with 3:37 to go in the contest.

Over the next 90 seconds, Pankey made 3-of-4 free throws, while the Knights held LIU off the scoreboard, to cut the lead to 61-60 with 1:46 remaining in the game.

After LIU scored a layup for a 63-60 lead, Livermore made 1-of-2 free throws at the one-minute mark to cut the lead back to one, ultimately setting up the Blackbirds' shot-clock violation and the game-ending dramatics.

FDU found a way to win despite shooting 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field and allowing LIU to shoot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor. The Knights also made only 2-of-12 from three-point range, as the Blackbirds made 5-of-13 from behind the arc.

However, FDU also won the game at the free throw line, outscoring LIU by 10. Both sides struggled from the charity stripe, with the Knights making 16-of-25 (64 percent) and the Blackbirds converting only 6-of-13 (46.2 percent).

“I am very proud of the team after coming back from a tough start,” Cinella said. “We made some big plays down the stretch. (Danielle) Pankey got to the foul line, and (Erika) Livermore came up with a huge three-point play at the end of the game, but we still have to do a better job defensively.”

Cleandra Roberts came off the bench to lead LIU with 20 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and four steals. Sophie Bhasin also came off the bench, adding 13 points, while Tamika Guz chipped in 10 points before fouling out. Robinson dished out a game-high nine assists.

FDU will return to action on Monday, Feb. 18 when they return to Stratis Arena to take on St. Francis Brooklyn at 7 p.m. in NEC action.