Box Score HACKENSACK, N.J. –Tiersa Winder scored eight points over the final 47 seconds of a wild finish at Stratis Arena and Bryant defeated the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team, 63-61, in Northeast Conference action on Monday evening. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 18-7 (11-3 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 7-17 (4-9 NEC) overall.
"I thought we played great defense against one of the top teams in the NEC," Head Coach Pete Cinella said after the game, "We commanded the second half well with good rebounding and defense. It's not too often you see two three-point fouls called so late in the game. We have to keep off the free throw line as we allowed them to get 30 attempts tonight."
Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) picked up her fourth foul at the 11:48 mark of the second half as part of an and-one by Bryant's Jenniqua Bailey that put her team down two. FDU's senior point guard, who has averaged nearly 38 minutes per NEC contest this season, remained on the bench for over seven minutes down the stretch.
Still, with Andrades off the court, the Knights went on a 16-9 run with four steals and most of their damage coming from the charity stripe.
Valerie Oyakhilome (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) tied the game up with 9:33 left to play with a three-pointer, her second of the half, but the Bulldogs quickly worked to regain a three-point lead. FDU kept the deficit within three and again tied the game with 7:46 to play when
Tiffany Grant (Odenton, Md./Arundel) made 3-of-4 from the free throw line over a four-second span.
Her freebies kicked off a 10-0 run over the next three minutes that included four Bryant turnovers and five points from
Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird).
The Knights crashed the boards and played stout defense over the next three minutes, getting the lead up to seven at the 2:07 mark, 57-50.
Bryant kept fighting despite losing Ivory Bailey and Megan Olander to foul outs and with 0:47 left on the clock, Winder, who had missed all six of her three-point attempts to that point, threw up a shot that bounced four times and in to cut the deficit to two, 60-58.
Grant made 1-of-2 from the line on the next possession but back on the other side of the court made contact with Winder during her three-point attempt and the junior hit 2-of-3 that left the hosts up just 61-60.
Cruz ended up double-teamed on the ensuing possession and rather than fouling, Bulldog players got their hands on the ball to force a jump ball and gift possession back to the visitors.
With just nine ticks left, Winder put up an off-balance shot and Grant, guarding her again, made contact once more. Winder sank all three free throws and Andrades' attempted equalizer on the other end fell short.
Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting and added 11 rebounds, for her 11th double-double of the season, two blocks and four steals in 33 minutes.
Cruz struggled from the floor and failed to shoot better than 42% for the first time since Jan. 12 against St. Francis Brooklyn – a span of eight contests – finishing with 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
Andrades failed to play in 30 or more minutes for the first time in nearly one calendar year – the last time was coincidentally also against Bryant at home on Feb. 15, 2014, when she also played 29 minutes. The senior finished with just three points (1-of-8 from the field), four rebounds, five assists, five steals, but also tied a season-high with six turnovers.
Winder ended up pacing her team with 15 points despite struggles from the field (2-of-10 FG) with 10 makes from the free throw line. Breanna Rucker, averaging a double-double on the season, chipped in 14 points, 13 rebounds, and five steals.
The Knights begin a three-game road swing on Saturday when they travel to Mount St. Mary's for a critical NEC clash with major postseason implications. The Mountaineers sit just a half game above FDU in the conference standings at 5-9. Tipoff is slated for 4:30 p.m.
