HACKENSACK, N.J. – A big second-quarter effort and a balanced scoring attack helped the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team close out non-conference play and the 2018 calendar with a 70-45 victory over Georgian Court in the Rothman Center.
 
The Knights (3-8) outscored the Lions (2-9) by a margin of 22-4 in the second quarter, limiting the Lions to just one field goal and two free throws. The Knights at one point scored 16 straight points starting with a Madelynn Comly jumper with 3:42 left before halftime. Fairleigh Dickinson extended their lead to as many as 26 in the third period and maintained a 20-point margin throughout the fourth quarter.
 
Sophomore Madison Stanley finished with career-best totals of 16 points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes of play, while junior Lauren Francillon grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
 
Senior Peniel M'Bikata and junior Jenna Clark each contributed 12 points, with Clark matching her total from the previous game at Saint Peter's. M'Bikata also led the Knights with five steals.
 
"I was happy with all 15 players coming in and contributing to the win today," head coach Peter Cinella said after the game. "Really thought Madison Stanley coming off the bench today was a huge factor, and Penny was excellent in our press defense. I was happy we were able to outrebound them by such a wide margin and also win the turnover battle, getting 21 steals."
 
FDU jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and later extended it to 11-3 after a Francillon fast-break layup and two Clark free throws. Clark scored nine of FDU's first 14 points, but the Lions battled back to make it a one-point game after a Comly jumper ended the period with the Knights up 18-17.
 
M'Bikata scored the first basket of the second period two and a half minutes in, and Francillon and Stanley added two points each to make it 24-17. The Lions then scored their only field goal of the second quarter before Comly's jumper with 3:42 left started the Knights' charge.
 
Stanley then scored five straight points followed by a M'Bikata layup and a Comly three-point play. Senior Lucia Serrano-Ranz later drained her first three-pointer of the season to make it 40-19. The Lions were held to just 1-of-11 shooting (0-6 from three-point range) and the Knights defense forced eight turnovers while generating six steals during the breakout period.
 
"We had a good second quarter," Cinella said. "We were scoring so that allowed us to get into our press and in turn generate more scoring chances for us."
 
Stanley continued her scoring surge in the third period, outscoring the Lions 7-2 through a three-minute stretch that helped her push past her previous career-high of 11 points. Clark also hit her second three-pointer of the game during the third period to provide her with back-to-back games scoring in double figures.
 
The Knights won the battle on the boards, 50-35 and forced Georgian Court to commit 30 turnovers while creating 21 steals. FDU also held the Lions to just 3-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
The victory for the Knights is the 499th in program history, meaning the next win for the team will represent the 500th in the 42-year history of the program.
 
The Knights will get the chance to go for win no. 500 in its first NEC game of the season on Saturday, January 5, when they travel to defending league-champion Saint Francis U for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
 
"We just have to move on to next week and try to continue to get better," Cinella added. "We're hoping to improve our rebounding and our ability to produce turnovers. We got to get better next week."