Box Score STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Fairleigh Dickinson used an 8-0 run in the first quarter and a 12-0 run in the second quarter to beat Wagner 73-57 on Saturday afternoon.
The Knights held Jasmine Nwajei - the nation's leading scorer coming in - scoreless in the first half and took a 48-25 lead at the half.
Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) had 14 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season - second straight - and 48th of her career. The center also added three blocks and two steals.
Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) led the Knights in scoring with 21 points (8-of-18).
Madelynn Comly (Littlestown, Pa./Delone Catholic) had a career-high 14 points (5-of-8) and tied a career-high with three steals.
In the first half, Fairleigh Dickinson (9-15, 6-5 NEC) forced Wagner (4-16, 2-9 NEC) into 12 turnovers and scored 19 points off those miscues. The Knights turned the ball over four times but did not allow a Seahawk-point off those. Wagner held the lead for not even a full possession as
Kiana Brown (Richmond, Va./Hermitage) hit a jumper to give Fairleigh Dickinson a 4-3 lead and they never trailed again.
"Tremendous first half, the team really focused on what we were trying to do defensively", said head coach
Peter Cinella after the game. "We took care of the ball in the first half. Kiana [Brown] stepped up today and Madelynn [Comly] was a big factor. Amina [Markovic] and Kiana both played one their better games defensively today."
On the 12-0 run in the second quarter,
Amina Markovic (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) scored four points and Cruz scored eight to give the Knights a 35-12 lead. Markovic finished with eight points - tied a career-high - and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
Wagner outscored Fairleigh Dickinson 22-13 in the third quarter and eventually cut the lead to 14, 61-47, heading into the fourth. Nwajei scored 16 of her game-high 23 points in the third, including 14 straight for the Seahawks to close the period.
The Seahawks cut the Knight lead to 13, 63-50, early in the fourth, but Markovic scored and then Cruz scored another six straight to extend the lead back to 21, 71-50. Two of Cruz's baskets were assisted by Brown, who finished with six points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals.
The Knights move into a tie for fourth place with Saint Francis U and Central Connecticut. Up next for Fairleigh Dickinson is a trip back to Brooklyn to take on St. Francis Brooklyn on Monday night.
