HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team embarks on its longest road trip of the season when it takes on Air Force Friday night at 7 p.m. MST (9 p.m. EST).
 
The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Digital Network, and live stats will be provided on Air Force's website through StatBroadcast.
 
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (1-1) are coming off a close 63-57 defeat to Lafayette the previous Friday. Trailing 32-23 at halftime, the Knights rallied back in the third period by outscoring the Leopards 23-10 and taking a 45-43 advantage into the fourth period. Lafayette, however, played a stronger fourth period in wrapping up its first win of the season. The Knights shot 31 percent from the field and less than 30 percent from three-point range but only turned the ball over eight times compared to Lafayette's 16 turnovers.
 
DOUBLE ZAMORA
Senior guard Natalie Zamora recorded her first double-double of her career in the loss to Lafayette. The senior scored 15 points and gathered a career-best 11 rebounds to go with two assists and three steals. Zamora made three-of-five three-pointers and helped spark the Knights' comeback run in the third period with assists to senior Peniel M'Bikata as well as hitting a couple of threes of her own.
 
BREAKOUT CANDIDATE
Sophomore Madison Stanley has started both games so far this season after making only one start in 30 games last year, and she has performed well in both games this year. She is averaging 9.0 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game and blocking 2.5 shots per game, which is second in the Northeast Conference.
 
POSSESSION IS KEY
Through two games, the Knights have been one of the best teams in the nation in forcing turnovers and not making turnovers. FDU ranks 15th in the nation in turnover margin (+13), with the big reason being the Knights only give up the ball 10.5 times per game, which is 18th in NCAA Division 1. Opponents against the Knights have turned the ball over 23.5 times per game on average. Consequently, the Knights average 14.0 steals per game (27th in Division I), led by freshman Makayla Thompson with 3.0 steals per game (best in the NEC).
 
FDU IN COLORADO
The Knights will be making their second-ever trip to Colorado, last playing in the Centennial State back in December 2006. The Knights played at Northern Colorado and at University of Denver, losing both games.
 
SERIES SCORE
FDU is 0-1 all-time against the Air Force Academy, with Air Force winning the only meeting in Hackensack by a score of 56-48 back on November 26, 2016. The Knights led that game 26-21 at halftime but a strong third period from the Falcons led to the eight-point win. Six current Knights played in that game, with senior Madelynn Comly and junior Lauren Francillon both in the starting lineup. Air Force has two players from the 2016 game still on their roster this season in Kassady Huffman and Venessannah Itugbu.
 
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
The Falcons (1-2) have lost two straight games after opening their season with a win over Division-II Western Colorado. A seven-point loss to George Mason was followed up with a 92-66 defeat at Denver on Sunday in their most recent contest. Sophomore Kaelin Immel leads the team with an average of 15.7 points per game and is shooting 50 percent from the floor and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. Huffman is averaging a team-best 9.3 rebounds per game and has a team-high seven blocks. Air Force finished last season with a 6-25 record and lost in the Mountain West quarterfinals. The Falcons were picked to finish 10th out of 11 teams in this year's MWC Preseason Poll.

THE MARCH TO 500
A win against Air Force would give the Knights the program's 498th victory. Barring a loss in the next few games, the Knights would reach the 500th win in program history on Sunday, November 25th, in a game against Howard in the Rothman Center.
 
AROUND THE NEC
St. Francis Brooklyn, who sits in first place in the NEC with a 2-0 start, also plays Friday against Chicago State as part of a three-game tournament hosted by Morehead State this weekend. Seven more NEC teams compete over the weekend, with Wagner hosting Lafayette as the only home NEC team.