HACKENSACK, N.J. -  The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's basketball team fell at home against LIU Brooklyn by a final score of 62-53 Saturday afternoon at Stratis Arena.  The loss moves the Knights to 15-12 on the season, including a 7-9 mark in NEC play.  

The Knights return to action on Monday, February 26 when they close out their regular season home schedule against Saint Francis Brooklyn at 7 p.m.

"We're disappointed at the loss," head coach Pete Cinella said post game.  "Senior night, we wanted to come out and get the win, but we just did not get off to a good start unfortunately.  We tried to force it inside when it wasn't there, swinging the ball wasn't really there either and it just sort of snowballed as the game went on."

Peniel M'Bikata led the Knights in scoring with 17 points as well as six boards and two assists.  Lauren Francillon finished with a double-double, posting 11 points to go along with 12 on the afternoon as well as a team-leading three blocks. Francillon's double-double is her fifth of the season.

The Blackbirds had the hot hand in the first two quarters, going 15-31 from the field including 5-11 from beyond the arc.  A Seneca Richards triple started the Blackbirds on a 14-5 run to start the game that included a pair of nice put back efforts from Stylz Sanders and DeAngelique Waithe.  

The Knights turned the ball over 26 times Saturday afternoon, leading to 23 points from LIU Brooklyn.  The Blackbirds also outscored FDU in the paint 28-23. 

FDU shot over 30% from beyond the three-point line, draining four triples off of 13 attempts.  

The Knights enjoyed its best offensive quarter in the 4th, outscoring LIU 26-14.  Amina Markovic started the rally with a layup after a nice cut to the rim, followed by a pair of back-to-back jumpers from Peniel M'Bikata, including a triple. M'Bikata would add one more three before the game was out.    

Denisha Petty-Evans and Deangelique Waithe tied for the LIU team lead in scoring with 15 points each, while Tia Montagne pulled own a team-high six boards.  LIU shot 24-51 (47.1%) from the field, including 6-19 (31.6%) from three.  

"I told the girls after the game that we have to find a way to win our game on Monday," Cinella said.  "We need to have the ability to find the open man and shoot the three.  That has to be there for us if we want to win Monday."