Game 18
Sacred Heart at Fairleigh Dickinson
Date: Saturday, January 20
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Rothman Center -- Hackensack, N.J.

The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball concludes a three-game home stand against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon. The Knights are seeking a second straight win and to finish 2-1 on the home stand. 

QUICK HITTERS
Fairleigh Dickinson has already surpassed last year's win total with its ninth win on Saturday at Wagner. The Knights have equaled its win total from the 2014-15 season with 10. Peter Cinella has now 10+ games in eight of his 11 seasons at the helm of FDU.  

The Knights prevented any Central Connecticut State player to reach double figures in scoring. The last time FDU did that was against Mount St. Mary's on January 24, 2016. FDU won that game 66-53. 

Fairleigh Dickinson snapped a three-game slide at home on Monday night against Central Connecticut. The Blue Devils were also the last NEC team that FDU beat at the Rothman Center last season.

The Knights got a season-high 28 points from their reserves on Monday night against the Blue Devils. FDU is 4-1 when the bench combines for at least 20 points. 

SERIES SCORE
Sacred Heart has controlled the all-time series against Fairleigh Dickinson with a 28-4 record. The Knights are 4-12 on their home court and have three of the last four meetings inside the Rothman Center; including last season's win the closing seconds, 58-56. 

LAST TIME OUT
Fairleigh Dickinson got a career night from Lauren Francillon and cruised past Central Connecticut, 78-49, on Monday night. Francillon had 16 points and 16 rebounds--both career-highs-- in her third double-double of the year. The sophomore added three blocks and three assists as the Knights took control in the second and did not look back. Madelynn Comly added 18 points--16 coming in the first two quarters. Fairleigh Dickinson led 42-18 at the halftime intermission, thanks to a 15-2 run over the final 4:28 of the second. The Knight tied a season-high with 19 assists on 29 made field goals and committed only seven turnovers--season low. 

ABOUT SACRED HEART
The Pioneers are 6-11 overall and 2-4 in NEC play this season. Sacred Heart has dropped its last two contests; Bryant and Central Connecticut State since beating both Wagner and Mount St. Mary's. Like Fairleigh Dickinson, Sacred Heart opened NEC play with losses to Saint Francis U and Robert Morris. All five starters average at least 9.9 points per game for the Pioneers. Katherine Haines leads the team at 14.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest. Tykera Carter is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game. The Pioneers are one of two teams in the NEC that average more points per game than the Knights (65.4 to 63.2). Defensively, the Pioneers are last in the NEC in field goal percentage in NEC contests. 

HITTING THE BACKBOARDS
FDU sits third in rebounding margin through six NEC games at +3.5. Robert Morris and Bryant are the two teams that FDU looks up to. The Knights are T2 (with Wagner) in league games in rebouding defense at allowing only 33.7 rebounds by its opposition.  

FDU is one of three teams have two players in the top 10 of rebounding in NEC games; Amina Markovic (7th) and Lauren Francillon (8th). 

FREE POINTS!!
FDU is the best free throw shooting team in the NEC in league play at 78-percent. That is four-percent higher than second-place Bryant. Sacred Heart is third. 

Peniel M'Bikata fuels the Knights FT% as the junior is 14-of-16 from the stripe in NEC games. The 87.5-percent clip ties the Canadian for second in the NEC.

70 IS THE NEW COOL!?
The Knights are 6-0 when they score 70 points or more. FDU is winning those contests by 19.3 points this season.