HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team battled in the second half after a slow start but ultimately could not overcome its first-half deficit at Colgate, falling 71-52.
 
The Knights (2-5) struggled from the field in the field in the first half, shooting 5-for-30 to start the game, but then started to mount a rally in the third quarter, outscoring the Raiders (3-5) 23-14 in the period. The home team, however, held on to earn the win despite the Knights outscoring the Raiders in the second half, 36-33.
 
Senior Peniel M'Bikata, scored eight of her 12 points in the third period to help lead the Knights' rally. The senior also grabbed a team-best six rebounds to go with two assists. Junior Lauren Francillon added nine points, and junior Charee Osborne scored a season-best eight points, making 3-of-4 shots from the field and both of her free throw attempts.
 
"It's good to see us come out and play well in the second half, especially that third quarter," said head coach Peter Cinella after the game. "It got us back into striking distance. Charee gave us a lot of energy, and Penny had a much better second half. We got to do a better job in the first half, and we have to find a way to get better defensively and on the boards."
 
Colgate opened the game with a three-pointer and took an early 5-2 lead after two Osborne free throws. Osborne later sank a turnaround jumper to cut the lead down to two, but the Raiders extended their lead to double-digits by going on a 13-2 run. Stanley broke the run with two free throws, and junior Courtney Blankenship drew a charge to keep the score at 18-9 at the end of the first period.
 
Francillon scored the next four points for the Knights, but Colgate's defensive pressure continued to bother the Knights as the home team grew its lead to 22 as the teams entered the locker room.
 
M'Bikata started the second half with a layup and senior Madelynn Comly later drained a three from the corner, but the Raiders had answers for each of the Knights' opening baskets to maintain their advantage. M'Bikata later hit her first three-pointer to drop the margin to 18 midway through the period, and an Osborne layup continued the 8-0 run for the Knights as they tried to chip away at the deficit.
 
Colgate ended the run with a free throw and a layup and entered the final quarter up 52-39, as the Knights totaled 23 points in the third period to work their way back.
 
M'Bikata drove for a layup to match Colgate's basket to start the fourth period, and Blankenship drew an "and-one", cutting the lead down to 10 at 54-44 with the made free throw.
 
The Raiders then made a layup to go back up by 12 with five minutes remaining and later grew their lead back to 18. Osborne made a put-back layup to stop the Colgate run, but the Knights could not start another big run they needed to draw even.
 
Senior Natalie Zamora and freshman Lindsey Mack each finished with six points, with Zamora adding five rebounds and two assists, while Mack blocked two shots to increase her season total to nine through seven games. Comly's three-point make in the third period allowed her to pass the 800-point benchmark in her career (801).
 
The Knights shot 7-for-11 from the field and made 7-of-8 free throws as well during the third period, finishing the game 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) from the charity stripe but only 28.1 percent from the floor for the game. FDU also won the turnover battle, 15-11
 
Colgate shot 49.1 percent from the field and outrebounded the Knights, 44-31. Three players scored in double figures for the Raiders, led by Rachel Thompson with 23 points.
 
FDU continues the extended road swing on Wednesday, going back up to New York state to face Army West Point at 7 p.m.