Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team dropped an 88-70 decision to Mount St. Mary's on Monday night in Northeast Conference action at Stratis Arena. With the victory, the Mount improves to 13-11 (8-4 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 2-21 (1-11 NEC) overall.

Sophomore Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) tied a career high with 31 points (20 in the first half) on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and fell one free throw short of tying the FDU record for most makes in a game after going 15-for-15. Senior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) added 12 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while junior Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) chipped in nine points, seven assists and two steals.

With the Knights leading by four at 43-39 with 16:31 left in the game, the Mount would take control of the contest by scoring the first 13 points of a 30-10 run over an 8:28 stretch that put the game away.

The visitors were hot from the floor all night long, shooting 50 percent in each half, and finishing the contest at 56.9 percent (33-of-58), including 10-of-20 from long distance. The Knights connected at only a 34.9 percent (22-of-63) clip but made 5-of-12 from behind the arc and 21-of-23 at the free throw line.

FDU forced the Mount into 19 miscues, which led to a 23-16 advantage in points off turnovers. But the Mount won the battle on the glass, 38-30, with a dominating performance on the defensive glass (32-19). The Knights did outscore the Mount by seven on second-chance points thanks to an 11-6 edge on the offensive end.

The visitors broke away from an early three-point game with nine unanswered points to take their largest lead of the first half, 22-10, at the 10:42 mark.

But a bucket by Andrades started an 11-2 spurt, which cut the lead to three, before four straight free throws from Cruz with 4:35 remaining before halftime capped a 20-5 run and gave FDU a 30-27 lead.

However, the Mount would outscore the Knights by six over the final 3:42 to go into the locker room leading 37-34.

After yielding the first two points of the second half, FDU scored nine-straight points before the Mount's game-deciding run.

Sydney Henderson led the visitors with 22 points, eight assists and four steals, while Jessie Kaufman came off the bench to add 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 15 when it hosts Bryant at 3:30 p.m. in a conference rematch. The contest at Stratis Arena will be the first game of a doubleheader, as part of the 2014 Winter Homecoming.