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HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team will look for a series sweep when it takes on Robert Morris late Saturday afternoon for a 4 p.m. Northeast Conference contest at the Sewell Center in Moon Township, Pa. The Knights defeated the Colonials, 80-68, at Stratis Arena on Jan. 14.
 
FDU (10-15, 5-9 NEC) suffered a tough loss at home to St. Francis Brooklyn, 56-50, last Monday and remains in 10th place in the conference standings, two games back in the loss column for the final three NEC Tournament spots.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Livermore leads FDU in scoring (14.6 ppg), rebounding (11.4 rpg), blocks (34) and field goal percentage (44.9 percent), while collecting 19 double-doubles on the season, which ranks seventh in the nation. Pankey adds 14.2 points per game, and Isaacs chips in 7.2 points per game and a team-best 43 three-pointers. Sophomore Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) leads the team with 103 assists and 38 steals.

The Colonials (7-18, 6-8 NEC), who were picked to finish fifth in the 12-team Northeast Conference, are currently in ninth place after falling on the road at first-place Quinnipiac, 60-46, last time out.
 
RMU, who is 5-2 at home in conference play, is led by junior forward Artemis Spanou, a preseason All-NEC selection, who is averaging team highs of 18.8 points and 15.0 rebounds per game, which is the top rebounding average in the country and the top scoring average in the NEC. She also is tied for first in the nation with 21 double-doubles. Spanou also leads the team in steals (50) and is second in assists (69), while shooting 74.6 percent (129-of-173) from the free throw line.
 
Freshman guard Lou Mataly adds 10.1 points per game and is shooting a team-best 38.5 percent (47-of-122) from three-point range and a team-high 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the free throw line. Fellow classmate Ashley Ravelli chips in 9.9 points per game at the guard position and has made a team-best 50 three-pointers this season.
 
The Knights and the Colonials will be meeting for the 53rd time in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1984-85 season. RMU holds a 31-21 advantage and has won 14 of the last 16 meetings, but FDU won the first matchup earlier this season, 80-68, at Stratis Arena on Jan. 14. At the time, the Knights improved to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in the Northeast Conference, while the Colonials dropped to 2-2 in conference play.
 
FDU put together its best offensive game of the season, connecting on a season-best 46.7 percent (28-of-60) of its shots. The Knights tallied season highs in field goals made (28), three-point field goals made (9-of-24) and assists (21), while tying their season best in blocks with six.
 
The FDU defense held RMU to only 34.8 percent (24-of-69) shooting from the field and 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from three-point range. Both teams turned the ball over 15 times, while the Knights won the rebounding battle, 42-38.
 
Pankey led the Knights with her third double-double of the season and of her career. She scored a game-high 22 points, including 18 after halftime, grabbed 10 rebounds to tie her career high and dished out a season-high five assists, while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
 
Livermore picked up her 12th double-double in 15 contests with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Isaacs added a career-high 17 points on a career-best five made three's. Sophomore Miah Register (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) dished out a career-high six assists and recorded a game-high three steals.
 
Leading 11-10, Isaacs' three from the left wing, followed by a pair of fast-break layups from Pankey, gave FDU an 18-10 lead with 10:05 to go before halftime.
 
The Colonials answered with six of the next nine points to cut the lead to 21-19, but a three ball from Andrades put the Knights back up six at 28-22 with 4:40 remaining in the first half before RMU responded by closing the half on a 10-2 run to go into halftime up 32-30.
 
The run eventually became a 14-2 spurt as the Colonials scored the first four points of the second half to take their largest lead of the game, 36-30, nearly 90 seconds after halftime.
 
A three by Isaacs and five points from Pankey tied the game at 38, thanks to an 8-2 run, and after a bucket by RMU to put them back ahead, Isaacs drilled a three from the right wing to give FDU the lead for good at 41-40 with 14:59 left in the game.
 
The Knights eventually outscored the Colonials, 19-6, to take a 57-46 lead on Livermore's layup with 9:25 to go.
 
RMU scored five straight points to cut the lead to 57-51, but that was the closest it would get, as a Livermore layup with 5:11 remaining put FDU up double digits for the rest of the contest at 64-54.
 
The Knights took their largest lead of the game, 78-63, with 37 ticks left on the clock before clinching the 80-68 victory.
 
Spanou tallied 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists to lead the visitors Ravelli added 18 points and four assists, while Mataly chipped in 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Following Saturday's contest, FDU will start to head back east, with a pit stop in Loretto, Pa., to take on fourth-place Saint Francis University on Monday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The Red Flash defeated the Knights, 68-50, at Stratis Arena on Jan. 12.