JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Playing in its fifth straight road game, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team played tough for most of its battle with Saint Peter's before fading down the stretch, falling 75-58 Friday night.
 
The Knights (2-8) suffered from cold shooting stretches in the second and fourth periods, allowing the Peacocks (5-6) to gain advantages and force the Knights to play from behind for most of the game. FDU started the game shooting 6-of-15 from the field in the first quarter and made 7-of-14 shots during the third period, making a 10-2 run that brought the visiting team back within six.
 
Junior Lauren Francillon led the Knights with 16 points and eight rebounds, going 7-of-15 from the field and also recording a team-high four steals. Senior Natalie Zamora finished with 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists, making six of her eight free throws.
 
Making her first start of the season, junior Jenna Clark scored 12 points to set a career high, making five of seven shots from the field and grabbing a season-high four rebounds as well.
 
"That's two games in a row we've done some good things," said head coach Peter Cinella after the game. "We've had obviously a very long road trip and we know how hard it is to win on the road. We definitely saw a lot of good things today. Jenna Clark played well, and that's two games in a row where Lauren has played really well. We got to do a better job with rebounding."
 
Clark drained a three-pointer to start the game, and sophomore Madison Stanley followed with a layup to give FDU the early lead. The Peacocks then scored eight straight to go up 8-5 before Clark finished a layup off a Stanley wrap-around pass to break the run.
 
Zamora provided the Knights the lead with an old-fashioned three-point play before Saint Peter's answered with their own three-point play, making it 11-10. The Peacocks built on their advantage before Zamora hit a three-pointer to stop the run, and freshman Lindsey Mack followed with a triple of her own, making it 17-16.
 
After a Saint Peter's free throw to end the first period, Francillon grabbed an offensive board and finished the putback while drawing a foul, providing the Knights the lead again. The two teams continued to trade baskets in a back-and-forth second period, with Saint Peter's taking a 33-28 lead into halftime.
 
Clark broke a scoreless run to start the second half with a jumper, but in that time Saint Peter's scored five straight points and eventually took a 43-31 lead.
 
After calling a timeout, Clark and Francillon helped ignite a 10-2 run, combining to score nine of the 10 points starting with a Clark three-pointer. The Knights cut the deficit down to six, 51-45, on a Francillon jumper, but Saint Peter's kept their lead at 53-45 heading into the final period.
 
The two teams traded points to start the fourth quarter, with Stanley driving for a layup to keep the Knights within eight. Saint Peter's then hit a three-pointer before freshman Makayla Thompson made a floater, but another Peacock three-pointer provided a double-digit lead again.
 
The Peacocks built off the three-point make with an 8-0 run that held the Knights from making any further trims into the deficit.
 
The Knights shot 36.8 percent (21-57) from the floor and made two-thirds of their free throw attempts (12-18) and held Saint Peter's to only 25 percent shooting from three-point range (6-24). Saint Peter's shot 43.1 percent (28-65) from the floor and had the advantage on the boards, 49-31.
 
FDU generated 12 steals as a team and blocked four shots in a game for the ninth time this season.
 
The Peacocks were led by Zoe Pero, who finished with 26 points, and Briyanah Richardson added 14 points.
 
The Knights play their final non-conference game on Saturday, December 29, at home against Georgian Court. Fairleigh Dickinson begins NEC play the following Saturday, traveling to defending conference champion Saint Francis U for a 4 p.m. tip-off.