HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Northeast Conference play opens up for the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball on Friday and Sunday when the Knights host Robert Morris at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saint Francis U on Sunday at 2 p.m. inside the Rothman Center.
QUICK HITTERS
Fairleigh Dickinson has already equaled last season's win total with eight.
FDU leads the NEC in; field goal percentage, 3-point FG% defense.
Fairleigh Dickinson has been atop the NEC Standings every day so far this season.
The Knights have won four straight at home for the first time since the 2015-16 season when they beat Mount St. Mary's, LIU Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Robert Morris.
Fairleigh Dickinson and Mount St. Mary's are the lone two teams in the NEC to enter conference play this weekend with a win in its last game.
This will be the second straight season that FDU has played both of the Pennsylvania schools on the first weekend of conference play. FDU hosted SFU then RMU last season.
SERIES SCORE
Friday will be the 64th meeting between Robert Morris and FDU all-time and the 10th in last three-plus seasons. The two sides have met in each of the last three NEC Tournaments. The Colonials have won four straight in the series since the Knights swept the two regular season meetings back in the 2015-16 season. FDU is 14-16 all-time on its home floor against Robert Morris.
LAST TIME OUT
FDU won its eighth game of the season with a 69-59 victory over Saint Peter's on December 21 to close out non-conference play on a positive note. Amina Markovic led the way with 19 points and added six rebounds and two steals. The Knights never trailed against the Peacocks and held Saint Peter's to 27-percent shooting over the first three quarters and forced 23 turnovers. Lauren Francillon added 11 points off the bench and Madelynn Comly also tallied 11. Madison Stanley put in a career-high seven in nine minutes and Kamrin Weimer dished out a career high five assists.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS
The Colonials enter play as the only other team in the NEC with a winning record besides the Knights at 7-4. Robert Morris had a five-game winning streak snapped last time out when it lost to Kent State 46-31 back on December 19. Nneka Ezeigbo paces the offensive attack at 11.8 points per game for the Colonials. Megan Smith and Jocelynne Jones are both over eight per game. Ezeigbo also leads the quad in rebounding at 6.7 per game with Smith at 6.3. Honoka Ikematsu--a freshman--hands out 2.7 assists per game. The Colonials are one of the two best defensive teams in the NEC; leading the league in points allowed per game, field-goal percentage defense, steals, and turnover margin.
ABOUT SAINT FRANCIS U
The Red Flash, who was the preseason favorite in the NEC, sit at 5-7 overall after non-conference play. The Red Flash engineered the second-largest comeback in NCAA history when they came back from 29 down against Portland State to win 106-101 in double overtime. Jessica Kovatch leads the team and the NEC in scoring at 20.3 points per game. Ace Harrison and Caitlyn Kroll are both averaging over 13 points per game. Harrison leads the team on the glass at 6.8 per contest. The Red Flash lead the NEC in rebounding at close to 41 a game and in forcing turnovers at 23 per contest.
TOP 40
FDU is 44th in Division I in 3-point shooting at 36.9-percent. The Knights have had four games where they have hit over 40-percent from behind the arc.
AT HOME IN THE NEC
Last season, the Knights went 3-6 on its home court against NEC foes. FDU went 6-3 at home in league play back in 15-16 and 4-5 in 2014-15.
NON-CONFERENCE WINS
FDU's eight non-conference wins this season are the most since 10 back in 1991-92. FDU won a total of nine from 2013-14 through last season.
TOUGH CONFERENCE OPEN
FDU has a tough seven games stretch to open NEC play. Six of the first seven opponents for the Knights were the top six seeds in the NEC Tournament a season ago. That includes the NEC Regular Season and Tournament Champion, Robert Morris, to start conference play on Friday. Saint Francis U was the third seed in last season's NEC Tournament.
Wagner is the lone opponent in the first seven conference games for FDU that did not make the NEC Tournament a season ago.
