HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team travels to Long Island to take on the Stony Brook Seawolves Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., at the Island Federal Credit Union Arena.
 
The game will be streamed live for free on America East TV, and live stats will be provided at stonybrookathletics.com.
 
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (2-6) rebounded from a slow start with a strong third-quarter effort but ultimately could not overcome its deficit in a 62-40 loss at Army West Point Wednesday night. FDU scored 17 points, including a 14-4 run when the Knights made 6-of-11 shots and brought the margin down to seven. Despite four straight losses, the Knights have been particularly strong in the third quarter in the past three games, outscoring teams 51-48 in the period over the past three games and forcing 17 combined turnovers on defense.
 
PENNY M'BUCKETS
Senior Peniel M'Bikata, who led the Knights with 13 points at Army, has scored in double figures in each of the past five games and six of eight games to start the season. She achieved her career-high in points with 19 against Howard, the highest point total of any Knight in a game this season. M'Bikata leads the team in points per game (11.6), three-point shooting (14-for-35, 40 percent), and field goals made (38) and has made 77.3 percent of her free throw attempts, including 14 of her last 17 from the charity stripe.
 
BLOCK PARTY
The Knights are leading the NEC and rank among the top 50 teams in Division I (45th) in blocks per game with 4.6 per game. Freshman Lindsey Mack leads the team with nine blocks (1.1 per game), the most among any NEC freshman and tied for fifth among all NEC players. Sophomore Madison Stanley also averages a block per game, and senior Madelynn Comly has six in eight games, matching her previous season-high from her sophomore season. As a team, the Knights have blocked at least four shots in seven of eight games this season.
 
POSSESSION IS KEY
The Knights are one of the best teams in Division I in limiting turnovers, ranking 32nd in fewest turnovers per game (13.4) and lead the NEC with a + 4.7 turnover margin. FDU has forced at least 10 turnovers in all eight games and at least 15 changes of possession in six of eight games, with a season-high of 31 forced turnovers in the win over Rutgers-Newark. The Knights turned the ball over a season-low five times at Army on Wednesday.
 
IMPROVED FREE THROW SHOOTING
FDU has been clutch from the charity stripe over its last four games, making almost 82 percent (50-61) of its free throws. The Knights are second in the NEC as a team in free throw percentage this season (72 percent) after starting the season in the bottom half of the league. FDU has earned at least 17 free throw attempts in three of its last four games.
 
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 1,170 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 Stony Brook would set the Knights up to possibly reach their 500th program victory in their next game on Friday, December 21, at Saint Peter's.
 
SERIES SCORE
Stony Brook leads the all-time series against FDU, 4-2, and won last year's meeting in the Rothman Center, 56-51, in a close, back-and-forth affair. Natalie Zamora and Lauren Francillon each poured in 10 points as two of three Knights in double-figure scoring in that game. The Knights are 1-2 against Stony Brook when playing on Long Island but won the last meeting on Stony Brook's campus, 56-49, on December 11, 2012.
 
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
The Seawolves (7-1) have won seven straight games and are one of 56 Division I teams with one or fewer losses through December 6. Stony Brook knocked off Penn State in Happy Valley for its first-ever Power 5 conference win in program history on November 25 and has scored over 70 points in six of its seven wins during the streak. Senior guard Shania Johnson leads all Division I players with 77 assists this season (9.6 per game) and also leads the team with 17.4 points per game and 2.6 steals per game while shooting 29-for-76 (.382) from three-point range. The Seawolves were picked to finish second in the America East preseason poll and Johnson was a preseason all-conference selection. Stony Brook finished last season with a record of 18-12 and fell in the AE Tournament quarterfinals.
 
AROUND THE NEC
Two more NEC teams play in road games Saturday afternoon, with Sacred Heart going to Lehigh and Saint Francis U playing at Youngstown State, while Wagner hosts Army at home. Bryant, LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis Brooklyn all play as well over the next two days before the conference takes a four-day break from games.