HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team closed non-conference play with a 69-59 win over Saint Peter's on Thursday afternoon. 

Fairleigh Dickinson's (8-3) eight non-conference wins are the most since the 1991-92 campaign when the Knights won 10 on their way to finishing 23-6. 

Head coach Peter Cinella told fduknights.com, "I thought our press did a great job at forcing turnovers. Amina was very efficient on offense in the second half from different spots [on the court]. [In the fourth] We got the ball to the elbows and the post consistently and cut down our turnovers. I was very happy with Madison's fourth quarter. She did a lot of good things. Madelynn Comly had some vital 3-point plays."

The Knights played strong defense for the first three quarters and got the offense in gear late in the third leading into the final stanza to come away with the 10-point win. Fairleigh Dickinson held Saint Peter's (3-8) to 27-percent shooting in the first three quarters, which allowed the Knights to have a 42-32 lead heading into the fourth. 

Defensively, the Knights forced 23 turnovers--11 steals--and held Saint Peter's to 12 points in the paint. Fairleigh Dickinson converted those 23 turnovers into 20 points and scored 36 points in the paint. 

A 9-0 run over the final 2:51 of the third put the necessary distance between the two sides for the Knights. Amina Markovic provided five of the nine points. The Peacocks would not get any closer than five the rest of the way, which was due to a 7-0 spurt from Saint Peter's in the middle stages of the fourth. 

Madison Stanley personally went on a 5-0 to answer Saint Peter's to make it a 10-point game--56-46--once again with 4:01 to play. 

The lead for Fairleigh Dickinson got down to seven inside of the last two minutes before the Knights scored four straight to bring the lead back to double digits, 65-54, with 1:19 to play. 

Markovic finished with a season-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 7-of-10 from the line and added six rebounds. Comly and Lauren Francillon added 11 points each. Stanley finished a new career-high seven, while only playing nine minutes. Natalie Zamora added eight points, four steals, and three assists. Kamrin Weimer dished out five assists--new career high. 

Haley Dalonzo led Saint Peter's and all scorers with 21 points. 

Cinella added, "We have seen a lot of different types of teams [in non-conference play]. We know it's a whole new season in conference play, and we are focused on getting that first win. 

The Knights open up Northeast Conference play on Friday, December 29 against Robert Morris. That game will start at 5 p.m. at the Rothman Center and will be shown live on NECFrontRow.com.