Box Score NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team dropped its Northeast Conference opener at Central Connecticut State, 82-53, on Saturday. With the loss, the Knights drop to 3-8 (0-1 NEC) on the season, while the Blue Devils improve to 5-7 (1-0 NEC) overall.
"Central shot the ball very well and did a great job rebounding," Head Coach Pete Cinella said, "We will play better on Monday."
The Knights started the game with a 4-2 lead but the hosts went on a 15-0 run, highlighted by seven straight points from Lauren Wolosik, to emphatically take a lead they would never relinquish. Both teams scored 19 points each heading into the break after that.
The visitors struggled to convert their chances, with just six baskets in the second half's opening 10 minutes, while CCSU scored 24 over that timeframe. FDU would score 16 points, highlighted by
Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne)' eight, in the remaining minutes but they were the result of just three baskets.
Central Connecticut State ended the contest with a flurry of long-range efforts. The hosts shot 58.3% from deep in the second half (7-of-12) and 52.9% overall (18-of-34 from the floor) to finish out the game on a 46-29 run. For the game, the Blue Devils converted half of their chances, while the Knights shot 32.7% as a team on 17-of-52 shooting.
Andrades paced FDU with 11 points, five assists, and four steals in 34 minutes.
Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird), straddled with foul trouble, scored a season-low nine points.
Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) added 10 points and eight rebounds, breaking a streak of three straight contests with a double-double and being held without a block for the first time all season. The redshirt junior center is just 21 points away from 1,000 in her FDU career.
CCSU's Nicole Ferguson scored a game-high 18 points in just 20 minutes and Wolosik finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with three three's.
The Blue Devils corralled 44 rebounds compared to FDU's 31.
The Knights have a quick turnaround as they travel to LIU Brooklyn on Monday night as the first game in a doubleheader with the FDU men's basketball team. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. and NEC Front Row will carry a live video broadcast.
