HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball returns to the Rothman Center for its first home Northeast Conference game of the season Saturday against Central Connecticut State at 2 p.m.
 
The game will be streamed live for free on NEC Front Row, and live stats will be available at fduknights.com.
 
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (3-10, 0-2 NEC) struggled in the early minutes of its last outing at Robert Morris and fell 71-49 despite outscoring the home team 38-31 in the second half. Junior Lauren Francillon scored a career-high 20 points and made a career-best four of her five three-point attempts. She also grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Knights. The Knights shot over 40 percent from three (9-of-22) for the first time this season, including 8-of-15 in the second half (53.3 percent).
 
SURGING FRANCILLON
Francillon topped her previous career high of 18 points (achieved vs. NJIT earlier this season) in Monday's loss. She scored 16 of her 20 points and made all four of her shots from beyond in the arc in the second half. In two NEC games, the junior has averaged 14.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg and has climbed to lead the team in rebounding (5.3 boards per game) and second on the Knights in scoring (9.2 ppg), ranking ninth in the NEC in blocks per game (0.9, 11 total) as well. Over her last four games, Francillon has averaged 12.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg and shot 45 percent from the floor and made 8-of-10 free throws to go with seven assists, seven steals and six blocks.
 
STREAKING COMET
Senior Madelynn Comly has found her shooting touch since the start of NEC play, scoring 14 points in back-to-back games. The senior made 3-of-5 three-pointers at Robert Morris and was 6-of-6 at the free throw line against Saint Francis U. Comly has shot 53.3 percent from the field (8-of-15) and made 9-of-10 free throws to start NEC play.
 
THE MARCH TO 500
With a win over Georgian Court on December 29, the Knights need only one more victory to reach the 500th in program history. The team has played in a total of 1,175 games since begging the program in 1977. Over the previous 499 victories, the Knights have won 214 NEC games and 121 games in Peter Cinella's tenure as head coach.
 
THIEVERY AT ITS FINEST
Senior Natalie Zamora is the NEC's leader in steals per game with an average of 2.3 pilfers. She recorded three steals Monday at Robert Morris and has achieved a season-high of four steals twice this season (vs. NJIT, at Stony Brook) and has at least two steals in 10 of 13 games this season. Zamora has also pulled down at least five rebounds in five of her last seven games and leads the Knights with 2.7 assists per game.
 
BLOCK PARTY
The Knights are one of the premier shot-blocking teams in the NEC, tied for first with Saint Francis U with an average of 4.0 rejections per game. Sophomore Madison Stanley leads the Knights with 13 blocks and is seventh in the league with 1.0 block per game. Francillon also has double-digit blocks this season (11), and freshman Lindsey Mack is tied for the most blocks (9) among NEC freshmen. FDU has nine games this season with at least four blocks as a team, with a high of six against Rutgers-Newark and Air Force.
 
SERIES SCORE
Central Connecticut State leads the all-time series with FDU, 25-16, in a rivalry that started back in 1988. The teams split the two matchups last year, with the home team winning both instances. The Knights earned a 78-49 victory in the first meeting, and the Blue Devils won the return game, 76-56. Francillon recorded a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds in the home victory and finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in the away loss. FDU has won two of the last three meetings and are 11-8 against the Blue Devils at home.
 
SCOUTING CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE
The Blue Devils (3-9, 0-2 NEC) dropped each of their first two NEC games, most recently falling at home to Wagner (FDU's next opponent), 75-63. Wagner led for the entire game and pushed their lead to 17 with 3:26 remaining. Senior Kiana Patterson, who averages 17.0 ppg and is fifth in NEC in scoring, finished with 17 points in the game. Sophomore Ashley Berube leads the Blue Devils with 6.3 rebounds per game to go with 8.2 points per game. CCSU picked up non-conference wins against Morgan State, Albany and New Hampshire and is 2-5 on the road this season. CCSU was selected to finish eighth in the NEC in the preseason poll.
 
AROUND THE NEC
Four teams made it through the first weekend unbeaten, including Robert Morris, Saint Francis U, St. Francis Brooklyn and Sacred Heart. Bryant and Wagner split their first two games, while FDU, CCSU, Mount St. Mary's and LIU Brooklyn are all looking for their first NEC win of the season. Two unbeaten face each other on Saturday, with Robert Morris traveling to Brooklyn to take on St. Francis Brooklyn. Other matchups include Bryant at Mount St. Mary's, Sacred Heart at Wagner, and Saint Francis U at LIU Brooklyn.