Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team let one slip away Monday night, falling to St. Francis Brooklyn, 56-50, in Northeast Conference action at Stratis Arena. With the victory, the Terriers improve to 11-14 (8-6 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 10-15 (5-9 NEC) overall.

With the score tied at 39, SFC's Katie Fox drilled a three-pointer to give the Terriers the lead for good with 4:04 remaining in the game. The trey ball started an 8-2 run, which gave SFC a 47-41 lead with 1:47 left in the contest.

FDU could not get closer than four the rest of the way. The Knights' best chance was when sophomore Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) had a chance for a three-point play after her layup cut the lead to 49-45 with 54 seconds remaining, but she missed the free throw.

The Terriers then made two baskets and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line over the final 38 seconds to seal the victory.

“St. Francis did a great job down the stretch,” Head Coach Peter Cinella said. “They came up with the big rebounds and made the big plays.”

The biggest difference in the contest was at the free throw line, as SFC converted 19-of-23 (82.6 percent), while the Knights made only 10-of-16 freebies.

Both sides struggled with their shooting from the field. FDU shot only 31.6 percent (18-of-57), including 4-of-18 from three-point range, while the Terries shot 32.0 percent (16-of-50) from the floor and only 5-of-21 from behind the arc.

The Knights turned the ball over 15 times, but only on four occasions in the second half. SFC turned it over 13 times, with eight coming over the final 20 minutes. The visitors won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Knights, 39-36.

Redshirt junior Danielle Pankey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) came off the bench to lead all scorers with 22 points, while making 9-of-12 from the free throw line. Livermore added 11 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and three steals, and junior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds to go along with four blocks and two steals.

Offense was at a premium in the first half, as the Terriers opened the game with a 7-0 lead with 13:20 remaining before halftime.

Five straight points from Pankey started a 15-4 FDU run to give the home team a 15-11 advantage with 8:38 left in the first half.

SFC retook the lead with five unanswered points, but two free throws from Pankey and a layup by Crawford put the Knights back up four at 20-16 with 2:33 to go before halftime.

With 38 seconds left in the opening half, Fox knocked down a three-pointer to give SFC a 22-21 halftime lead.

To start the second half, sophomore Stephanie Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) nailed a three, and Pankey converted an old-fashion three-point play to give FDU its largest lead of the game, 27-22.

The Terriers answered with a 13-4 spurt to retake the lead, 35-31, with 9:47 to go in the game, before the Knights came back to tie the contest at 35.

After SFC went back up four, Pankey scored four straight points to tie the game at 39 with 5:01 left in the contest. Fox then hit the three-pointer almost one minute later, giving the Terriers the lead for good.

“We outscored them from the field, but they did a great job making free throws, outscoring us by nine from the foul line,” Cinella said. “We did a much better job of taking care of the ball in the second half, and our defense held them to only 32 percent shooting from the field.”

SFC was led by Eilidh Simpson's 13 points, four assists and three steals, while Leah Fechko came off the bench to pick up a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

FDU will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 23 when it travels to Moon Township, Pa. to take on Robert Morris at 4 p.m. The Knights defeated the Colonials, 80-68, at Stratis Arena on Jan. 14.