HACKENSACK, N.J. -  Courtney Blankenship's go-ahead three-pointer with 29.1 seconds remaining on the clock secured a 62-61 win for the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team.  The victory moves the Knights to 15-9 on the season, including a 7-6 mark in the NEC.  It also marks the first game of the season in which FDU trailed at the half and came back to earn a win. 

The Knights return to action on Saturday, February 17th when they head to Robert Morris for a clash with the Colonials at 1 p.m. 

"I liked our defense down the stretch," head coach Pete Cinella said.  "Wagner was in a good rhythm today, but we got some great defensive ball pressure from Elise Graham, and we got some good stops from our team defense in general, so I'm very proud of that." 

Senior Amina Markovic paced the Knights with 20 points, adding six boards and an assist on the evening.  Blankenship finished with a season-high 13 points to go along with two steals and some late-game heroics in the effort. 

After finding themselves in a 29-26 hole at the half, FDU managed to catch fire in the fourth quarter to seal the victory at home, outscoring the Seahawks 29-16 in the final frame. 

In addition to an impressive effort defensively, Graham provided a scoring spark off the bench for FDU in the fourth, knocking down an open jumper with eight minutes left in the game to cut Wagner's lead to just four points. Graham then hit on a deep three a little over a minute later to cut the lead down to three points.  

"We were down by as many as seven with under five minutes to go, but they just kept executing," Cinella said.  "Our issue all night was we just weren't hitting the outside shots, and then we finally started to hit them.  Elise's lift off the bench was huge for us tonight, and Courtney [Blankenship] played her best game of the season.  All day she was playing well, and then to have the courage and the wherewithal to hit that three late in the game was huge." 

Grahams' boost, coupled with another huge three from Madelynn Comly and some strong post play from Lauren Francillon set up Blankenship for the eventual game-winner. 

Enjoying a 26-14 advantage in bench scoring, the Knights were able to lean on experienced depth all up and down the lineup to get the win. FDU also dominated second-chance opportunities, outscoring the Seahawks 18-4 on the evening. 

"I would say this is one of our best wins this season," Cinella said.  "We had a very similar game against Army this year where you think, how do you win that game?  But if you keep battling and play the whole 40 minutes you can pull those games out."