HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team begins a road trip to upstate New York with a Friday night battle against the Binghamton Bearcats at 7 p.m.
The game will be available to view on ESPN+, which is a pay-per-view subscription web platform found on ESPN.com. Viewers can sign up for a seven-day free trial to view the game before subscription service fees begin. Live stats will also be available at bubearcats.com.
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (2-3) suffered their second home loss of the season to Howard this past Sunday despite career-high point totals from
Peniel M'Bikata and
Madison Stanley. FDU fell behind in the first half but shot better from the field in the second half. Howard, however, matched the Knights' points to hold onto their lead. The Knights did record 14 steals, their second-highest steal total in a game this season.
CAREER-HIGHS
M'Bikata and Stanley each netted career-high point totals in the loss to Howard. M'Bikata finished with 19 points to lead the team, shooting 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 at the foul line while making three triples. The senior scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half, going 5-of -6 from the field in the latter half. Stanley added 11 points to also score in double figures, going 5-of-6 from the field and gathering a team-best five rebounds as well.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Stanley raised her season field-goal percentage to 58.1 percent, which is the best of any player in the NEC through November 28. Senior
Natalie Zamora leads the league in steals per game (2.4 steals/game), and the Knights as a team lead the conference in steals per game as well (12.2 per game). FDU also leads the NEC in turnover margin at +5.4.
THE MARCH TO 500
As a program, the Knights are two wins away (498) from reaching 500 ... The team has played in a total of 1,167 games since beginning the program in 1977. Over the previous 498 victories, the Knights have won 214 NEC games and 120 games in
Peter Cinella's tenure as head coach. A win against Binghamton would set the Knights up to possibly reach their 500th program victory in their next game on Sunday, December 2, at Colgate.
SERIES SCORE
FDU is 2-2 all-time against Binghamton entering Friday night's game. The Bearcats won the last meeting between the two teams, 80-67, back in 2016. FDU lost the only other time the two teams played in upstate New York back in 2006 (49-35). Two Knights started in the last matchup in
Madelynn Comly and
Courtney Blankenship, with each player tallying nine points and Comly also adding five rebounds and three steals.
SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats (4-3) defeated Army West Point, 60-47, in their last outing. Similar to the Knights, the Bearcats have won every game they have scored at least 60 points this season, and lost every game they were held under 60 points. Senior forward Rebecca Carmody leads the Bearcats in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg) assists (2.6 apg) and steals (2.0 spg) while junior guard Kai Moon (11.5 ppg) was a preseason All-America East selection and is second on the team in scoring this season. Last season, Binghamton went 20-12, including a win over Youngstown State in the WBI Postseason Tournament. The Bearcats were picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the America East preseason poll.
AROUND THE NEC
The Knights enter the game tied for second place in the NEC standings, trailing only St. Francis Brooklyn (4-3). Wagner is the only other NEC team in action Friday night, traveling across the bay to take on Saint Peter's. Four NEC teams are in action on Saturday, with Bryant and CCSU hosting Brown and Buffalo, respectively, while Saint Francis U goes to Longwood and Mount St. Mary's plays at Loyola (Md.)
