Box Score

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team won a thrilling Northeast Conference contest on Saturday at Robert Morris in overtime, 64-62, at the Sewell Center. With the victory, the Knights move into a ninth-place tie with the Colonials and are now 11-15 (6-9 NEC) on the season, while RMU falls to 7-19 (6-9 NEC) overall.

After leading most of the second half, FDU found itself down five points, 59-54, after the Colonials went on an 18-4 run, but a big three pointer from sophomore Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) and a steal and a layup from freshman Brianna Thomas (Baldwin, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan) tied the game at 59 with 2:24 remaining in regulation.

RMU retook the lead, but a layup in heavy traffic by sophomore Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) tied the game at 61 with 56 ticks left on the clock.
The Colonials had possession the rest of regulation, thanks to an offensive rebound, but the Knights played great defense over the final 29.9 seconds to force overtime.

Thomas made 1-of-2 free throws 40 seconds into overtime to put FDU up one. Neither team scored over the next 2:44 until Andrades sank two free throws to increase the Knights advantage to 64-61.

RMU made 1-of-2 free throws with eight seconds to go, which cut the lead to two, before Andrades was fouled after the inbounds pass. She missed the front end of the one-and-one, giving the Colonials one last chance to either tie or win the game.

Sophomore Tiffany Grant (Odenton, Md./Arundel) blocked the potential game-tying shot, and Livermore corralled the rebound to clinch the victory and improve FDU's record to 3-0 in overtime this season.

 "They made a good run and we could have folded, but we really dug in and got stop after stop down the stretch," Head Coach Peter Cinella said.

Livermore came off the bench to lead the Knights with a game-high 23 points and a team-best 11 rebounds, picking up her 20th double-double of the season. She made 11-of-15 shots from the field, tying a career-high in makes, and tied career bests in assists and steals with three each, while blocking two shots.

Freshman Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) also came off the bench to add a career-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, after making her first six shots to start the game. Sophomore Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) chipped in 10 points, tying her season high, while dishing out a game-high seven assists with only one turnover.

To start the game, the Colonials jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead before Andrades scored five straight points to cut the deficit to 6-5.

After RMU went back up five at 12-7, Cruz scored seven of the next 10 points in the game, and Andrades found Livermore for a fast-break layup, capping an 18-6 run and giving FDU a 25-18 lead with 9:08 to go before halftime.

The Knights continued to attack, eventually outscoring the Colonials, 24-11, as a tough one-handed shot from redshirt junior Danielle Pankey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) gave FDU its largest lead of the half, 31-23, with 4:04 left in the opening 20 minutes.

RMU came back and answered with eight straight points to tie the game before a three-pointer from Cruz, with just under a minute remaining, gave the Knights a 34-31 lead at halftime.

FDU shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field in the first half, including 4-of-9 from three-point range, while holding the Colonials to 42.4 percent (14-of-33) shooting and 3-of-8 from behind the arc.

The Knights scored the first nine points of the second half, stretching their run out to 12-0, as a put back layup by Livermore gave FDU its largest lead of the game, 43-31, with 15:41 remaining in regulation.

After Cruz knocked down a jump shot in transition to put the Knights back up nine at 50-41, RMU started its comeback with a three-pointer from Artemis Spanou with 9:34 to go in regulation.

Livermore scored on another put back layup to put the Knights back up eight, but the Colonials scored 13 unanswered points to take a 57-52 lead, forcing Cinella to call a 30-second timeout with 4:33 left in regulation. FDU then scored seven of the next nine points to tie the game at 59 before eventually winning in overtime.

For the game, the Knights shot their second-highest field goal percentage of the season (46.4 percent), while making 26-of-56 shots. FDU made 5-of-16 three's and 7-of-11 free throws, turned the ball over a season-low 13 times and tied a season high in blocks with nine.

RMU shot 36.8 percent (25-of-68) from the field and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range, including 4-of-7 in the second half. The Colonials won the rebounding battle, 47-32, as 14 second-chance points came off 22 offensive rebounds. However, the home team only converted 5-of-14 free throws.

"We showed a lot of competitive fire and grit to battle for 45 minutes," Cinella said. "Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic)'s defense on Spanou was tremendous, Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) came through with big shots down the stretch, Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) did a great job shooting the basketball and Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) gave us a huge boost with 17 points off the bench.". 

The victory was the Knights' first win at Robert Morris since the 2002-03 season.

RMU's Ashley Ravelli led the Colonials in scoring with 21 points, while knocking down 4-of-6 from three-point range. Spanou, the country's leading rebounder (15.0 rpg), grabbed a game-high 21 boards and added 18 points, keeping her atop the leaderboard in double-doubles in the nation. Kelly Hartwell chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds. 

FDU will look to keep its postseason hopes alive when it completes its western Pennsylvania road trip with an NEC contest at third-place Saint Francis University on Monday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The Red Flash handled the Knights earlier this season at Stratis Arena, 68-50, on Jan. 12.