HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Despite having two players notching career-best point totals, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team could not overcome a first-half deficit in falling to Howard, 79-58, in the Rothman Center on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Peniel M'Bikata led the Knights (2-3) with 19 points, surpassing her previous career best of 17, while sophomore Madison Stanley added 11 points to also reach a new career-high. M'Bikata finished the game shooting 5-for-6 from the field in the second half, while Stanley scored nine of her 11 points in the first half.

The Bison (3-2) jumped out to a 39-22 lead at halftime, and despite the Knights shooting better in the second half, they were unable to prevent Howard from scoring, as the visiting team matched the Knights point-for-point throughout the second half.

"Howard is a solid, well-coached team," said head coach Peter Cinella after the game. "We played much better in the second half. Penny and Madison Stanley shot the ball well, and 14 steals is a good thing for us."

The Knights trailed to start the game until senior Natalie Zamora hit a three-pointer to make it 8-7 midway through the first period. After a Lauren Francillon free throw, Howard tied the game with two makes from the charity stripe and started a 8-0 run to go up 16-11. Senior Emmanuella Edoka snapped the run by drawing a foul in the paint and sinking both free throws, but the Bison scored to end the first period at 18-13.

Howard jumped ahead by double-digits in the second period, outscoring the Knights 14-4 through the first eight minutes of the quarter. M'Bikata scored the Knights' final five points of the half, cutting the Bison lead to 17 with a pair of free throws before the halftime buzzer.

M'Bikata hit her second triple of the game to start the second half, and Stanley notched her 11th and final points of the day on a jumper to make it 41-27 early in the third. The senior proceeded to score seven of the Knights' final 11 tallies of the period in helping the Knights not let the deficit grow much more.

The Bison, however, continued to match the Knights' scoring efforts the rest of the way in maintaining their advantage and holding on for the victory.

Stanley and M'Bikata each grabbed five rebounds to lead the Knights on the boards as well. M'Bikata also chipped in three steals to lead the team. Stanley shot 5-for-6 from the field and made her only three-point try of the game.

Freshman Lindsey Mack blocked four shots, more than she had recorded all season entering the game, and also scored nine points.  

The Knights won the turnover battle, forcing Howard into 18 mistakes while making only 16 of their own, and the Knights finished the game with 14 steals. FDU shot 80 percent from the foul line (16-20) but only 28.8 percent from the field (17-59) while allowing Howard to shoot 45.8 percent (27-59) from the floor. Howard had three players score in double figures, led by Jayla Thornton with 16 points.

The Knights go on an extended road trip starting Friday, November 30, with a game at Binghamton at 7 p.m., followed by four more road games in the month of December before closing out the 2018 portion of the calendar with their final non-conference home game against Georgian Court on December 29.