WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team's comeback attempt at Howard came up three points short as the Knights lost 68-65 to the Bison on Tuesday night.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson (5-2) was down by as many as 25 in the third and scored 29 points in the fourth to make it a three-point game on the game's final possession. On the Knights' final possession, Peniel M'Bikata's three-point attempt from the right wing did not fall as the final buzzer sounded.

Head coach Peter Cinella said afterward, "We moved the ball so well; hit some threes and got some stops [during the comeback] and we had a good look at the buzzer. I am proud of the team for showing that they can comeback."
 
Howard (1-5), which did not hit a field goal for the final three minutes, scored its final seven points from the free throw line to hold on for the win. The Bison shot 7-of-16 from the charity stripe in the fourth and were 3-of-15 from the field in the final quarter.
 
The Knights, who trailed 55-36 after the third, got the offense going in the fourth and scored the first eight points of the stanza. Natalie Zamora hit a three that was sandwiched by a layup and 3-pointer from Madelynn Comly.
 
Comly hit another three to get the game to single digits for the first time since the first at 59-50 with 5:26 to play.
 
Howard moved the lead back to 12 on a pair of free throws before Zamora hit a jumper from the top of the key with 2:42 to play. Zamora then hit a three off a Howard turnover to make it a seven-point game with 2:33 left.
 
Lauren Francillon grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in to make the score 67-62 with 25 seconds left. After Howard missed both free throws, Francillon hit 3-pointer from the right wing on the next Knights possession to make it a 67-65 game.
 
The Knights, who were out of timeouts, got the ball back after Asia McCants went 1-of-2 from the line with 10 seconds to play. M'Bikata got the ball on the right wing and put a shot up that hit the back of the rim but did not fall.
 
Howard jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first and then held Fairleigh Dickinson to seven points in the second quarter to build a 38-20 halftime advantage. The Bison shot 50-percent from the field in the opening half compared to the Knights' 22-percent clip.

Cinella continued, "Howard came out and played very hard. We missed some opportunities to attack in the first 20 minutes. Defensively, we did a good job with our press and getting stops [in the fourth]. We allowed too many easy buckets in the first two quarters."
 
Comly scored nine of her 16 points in the final stanza. Zamora had eight in the final 10 minutes and finished with 11 points. Amina Markovic had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Francillon added 9 points and 10 rebounds—four offensive—off the bench.
 
The Knights hit 11 3-pointers and shot 36-percent from the behind the arc, which was higher than the total percentage from the floor—35%. 
 
Sarah Edmond finished 19 points—13 in the first half—to lead the Bison. Tariah Johnson was also in double figures with 10.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson returns to the court on Wednesday, December 6 when Monmouth comes to the Rothman Center. The tip is at 7 p.m. and aired on necfrontrow.com.