Box Score HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team fell at home, 77-56, to Northeast Conference regular season champion Central Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon at Stratis Arena. With the win, the Blue Devils improve to 18-10 (14-3 NEC), while the Knights fall to 9-19 (6-11 NEC).
"We did a great job battling back with defense and intensity In the second half," Head Coach Pete Cinella said after the game, "Coach [Beryl] Piper and Central Connecticut showed why they have the best record in the league with a great performance."
FDU led for just 11 seconds of the contest after
Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) and
Amina Markovic (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) started the game off with two straight buckets to lead 4-2. The Blue Devils raced out to a 22-8 lead after that while shooting 7-of-15 from the field.
Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird), honored pregame after scoring her 1,000th point last Monday night, drained a three-pointer but it would be the last time the Knights' deficit would be in single digits.
Central Connecticut State closed out the first half with even more efficient shooting (11-for-15 from the field) and led by 19 at the half, 43-24. Nine different Blue Devils were on the scoreboard at the break.
The Knights came out of halftime with inspired defense and had five steals and 12 points (on 6-of-9 shooting) over the first 5:32 in the second half, now down 49-36.
Tiffany Grant (Odenton, Md./Arundel) led the charge with six points and three steals.
Tejahne Malone converted a layup but Livermore answered back with a three-point play on the side side.
With 10:30 to play, Lauren Wolosik hit an uncontested long ball and, again, FDU answered right back, this time it was
Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) with a three-pointer of her own.
Anastasia Williams (Central Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan), Andrades, and Cruz combined to get the lead back down to 10 but the Knights went cold after that.
The Blue Devils ended the contest on a 15-4 run over the final eight minutes with FDU shooting just 2-of-9 to close it out.
Livermore and Wolosik shared game-high honors with 15 points with the former missing her 14th double-double of the season by one rebound.
Cruz finished with 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting, while Malone tallied 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Blue Devils outshot, 55% to 39.3%, and outrebounded, 40-27, the Knights overall.
FDU is back in action for its regular season finale on Monday evening against Sacred Heart. A win would clinch a NEC Tournament berth for the Knights or a Wagner loss. NEC Front Row will carry live video coverage.
