Box Score

LORETTO, Pa. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team fell to Saint Francis University, 100-89, in Northeast Conference action Monday night at DeGol Arena. With the victory, the Red Flash improves to 15-12 (10-6 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 11-16 (6-10 NEC) overall.

The biggest difference in the game was three-point shooting, as SFU outscored FDU, 51-12, from behind the arc. The Red Flash knocked down 17-of-33 three's, including 10-of-21 in the first half, while the Knights made only 4-of-17 in the game.

SFU also forced FDU into 23 turnovers, which led to 28 points. The Knights only scored 12 points off 13 Red Flash miscues.

FDU did dominate the paint, outscoring SFU, 48-18, while killing the Red Flash on the glass, 56-33. The Knights outscored SFU, 33-7, on second-chance points, as they collected a season-high 26 offensive rebounds.

Sophomore Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) led all scorers with a career-high 36 points, as she established new career bests in field goals (15) and field goal attempts (26). Livermore also pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds, including a career-high 11 offensive boards, while recording a career-best four steals.

Redshirt junior Danielle Pankey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) came off the bench to add 18 points, and sophomore Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Junior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) added 10 rebounds for FDU.

The Knights scored the first six points of the game, as they jumped out to a 16-7 lead nearly five minutes into the contest, before the Red Flash answered with a 13-4 run to tie the game at 20 with 10:24 to go before halftime.

Andrades connected on a deep three from the left wing to regain the lead for FDU, but she picked up her second foul 20 seconds later, forcing her to go to the bench with 9:47 remaining in the first half.

SFU promptly outscored the Knights, 9-2, and eventually extended its lead out to five at 32-27 with 6:02 to go before halftime.
FDU scored five straight points, as freshman Geraldine Cherubin (Hamden, Conn./Hamden)'s put back layup tied the game at 32. She had a chance for a three-point play but missed the free throw.

The Red Flash then caught fire from three, knocking down four from distance over the final 4:17 of the half, and took a 10-point lead before a step-back three-pointer from Pankey right before halftime cut the deficit to 48-41 at the break.

Both sides pressed each other throughout the first 20 minutes, which led to a lot of easy buckets. FDU shot 45.7 percent (16-of-35) but only made 2-of-8 from distance. SFU made 48.6 percent (17-of-35) of its field goals and scored 30 points on 10 made three's.

Freshman Brianna Thomas (Baldwin, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan) scored a layup to start the second half for the Knights to cut the lead to five, but it was the closest they would come the rest of the game, as the Red Flash used a 12-4 spurt to extend the lead to 60-47 with 16:56 remaining in the game.

SFU extend its lead to 74-59, but FDU scored eight unanswered points, as a three-pointer from Pankey cut the lead to 74-67 with 8:40 to go, forcing the Red Flash to call a 30-second timeout.

Following the timeout, a pivotal play took place, as the Knights appeared to have created a turnover near midcourt, but SFU came up with the loose ball for an easy layup to end the FDU run, while talking away all the momentum.

The Red Flash took control from that point and eventually took their largest lead of the game, 92-76, with 1:39 remaining in the contest.

The Knights then fought back, and Livermore's 22nd point of the second half cut the deficit to 96-89 with 39 ticks left on the clock.

However, SFU would score the final four points to clinch the 100-89 victory.

For the game, FDU shot 44.6 percent (33-of-74) and set new season highs in points, field goals made and field goals attempted. The Knights also shot 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the free throw line.

The Red Flash converted 50 percent of its field goals (31-of-62), including 51.5 percent of its three-pointers, while making only 21-of-35 free throws (60 percent). They also assisted on 28 of their 31 field goals.

SFU's Kelly Doogan came off the bench to score 35 points, as she made 11-of-16 shots, including 8-of-12 from three-point range. Nickia Gibbs added 14 points, five rebounds and a game-high 10 assists, while Aisha Brock came off the bench to score 13 points.

FDU held Alli Williams to only 11 points and six rebounds, but she still dished out five assists and recorded a game-high six steals.

The Knights still remain in a tie for ninth place and are only one game back in the loss column for the final NEC Tournament spot. FDU will return to action on Saturday, March 2 at Stratis Arena to host Mount St. Mary's at 2 p.m. The Knights defeated the Mount in overtime, 69-60, on Jan. 7 in Emmitsburg, Md.

Saturday will also be Senior Day, as Torrie Childs (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) will be honored. It will also be Winter Homecoming and FDU's Play 4Kay game, which supports breast cancer research.