HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The final seven points of the game all went to Fairleigh Dickinson, and the Knights needed all of them to come back and beat Army, 58-56, on Monday night at the Rothman Center.
Madelynn Comly hit a contested layup after an offensive rebound with 34 seconds left in the game to make it 56-53 Army. Daizjah Morris of Army (1-1) then missed a pair of free throws on the other end. The Knights came down, and
Lauren Francillon hit in a three-pointer from the right wing with 12 seconds left to tie the game at 56.
After Army was issued a team technical for having six players on the court out of a timeout,
Natalie Zamora hit one-of-two free throws to put Fairleigh Dickinson (2-0) up 57-56 with 12 seconds left.
Francillon then came up big on the defensive end. The sophomore blocked Janae McNeal with six seconds left. Francillon secured the rebound, got fouled and hit one-of-two free throws to make it 58-56 Knights. The Maryland native added two blocks of Destinee Morris in the final three seconds to seal the win for the Knights.
Pete Cinella told FDUKnights.com post game, "That was a great win. We got off to a great start and played the way we want to play. Army came out strong in the second half to take a 10-point lead. We able to get some good defensive possessions late--great help defense by Maddy Comly and Lauren's three blocks in the final ten seconds."
Francillon finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, four blocks-- a career high--on the night. Comly added 10 points, four rebounds, a block and a steal.
Natalie Zamora was the third night in double figures ate 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Madison Hovren led Army with a game-high 20 points. Diazjah Morris added 10.
The Knights started the game with a 6-0 spurt and led by as many as 11 in the opening two quarters--25-14 in the second--and by eight at halftime. The Black Knights used a 20-8 third quarter to take a four-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
Army then increased the lead to its largest--10--with five minutes to play. Fairleigh Dickinson then outscored Army 17-5 over the final five minutes to turn a 51-41 deficit into a 58-56 win.
Fairleigh Dickinson did not get to the line as much as Army, but the Knights made 16-of-21 compared to 18-of-33 for Army. The Knights went 5-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final quarter.
Up next for the Knights is a trip to Newark to face NJIT on Thursday night. The tip is set for 7 p.m. and on ESPN3.