HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team hosts Bryant Monday night at 7 p.m. in the Rothman Center for its third straight Northeast Conference home game.
 
The game will be streamed live for free on NEC Front Row, and live stats will be provided at fduknights.com.
 
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (5-13, 2-5 NEC) put forth one of their better defensive efforts of the season in Saturday's loss to St. Francis Brooklyn. FDU held the best three-point shooting team in the NEC (.417 entering the game) to just 3-of-17 from deep (.176) and also 10 points below their season average of 75.1 points per game while recording eight blocks and 10 steals. The Knights forced 14 turnovers as well but struggled shooting in the second period that allowed the Terriers to gain an advantage that lasted to the end. Junior Lauren Francillon led the Knights with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, her second straight double-double effort.
 
FRANCE-ON-A-ROLL
Francillon has stepped up her play in NEC games, averaging 15.6 ppg and 10.3 rpg while shooting 50 percent from the field and 23-of-26 (.885) from the foul line. In her last game, Francillon recorded her third double-double of the season and also surpassed 600 career points (602). She also has blocked 12 shots in seven conference games. For the season, Francillon is third in the league in free throw percentage (.826), fifth in blocks (1.2), seventh in rebounding (6.8) and 12th in scoring (11.2).
 
DEFEND THE PERIMETER
Thanks in part to Saturday's performance vs. St. Francis Brooklyn, FDU leads the league in three-point field goal defense by allowing opponents to shoot just .288 from beyond the arc. FDU has allowed the fewest three-point field goals (86) in the league. Opponents have shot under 30 percent from deep in seven games against the Knights, with a season-low of .125 (2-of-16) in the game at Army.
 
DEFENSIVE MINDSET
To go with their perimeter defense, the Knights also rank high in the league in most defensive categories. FDU is second in the NEC in steals per game (9.4) and blocks per game (4.1), and they are third in the conference in turnover margin (+1.3) and points allowed (65.2). Senior Natalie Zamora leads the league in steals per game, averaging 2.3 swipes per contest. Along with Francillon, sophomore Madison Stanley is in the top-10 in the NEC in blocks (1.0 per game, eighth). The Knights have recorded at least four blocks in 12 of 18 games and at least seven steals in 12 of 18 games as well.
 
500 WINS
On January 12, the Knights made history in their 74-67 victory over Central Connecticut State, reaching 500 all-time wins as a program. The team has played a total of 1,181 games since beginning the program in 1977. Over the previous 501 wins, the Knights have won 216 NEC games.
 
SERIES SCORE
FDU is 5-13 all-time against Bryant heading into Monday's game. The teams split the two meetings last season, with the road team winning in each game. The Knights first fell to the Bulldogs in the Rothman Center, 65-48, but the Knights returned the favor in Smithfield later in the season, winning 77-69 in overtime. Peniel M'Bikata netted 12 points in each game last year, and Zamora scored 15 points in the overtime victory. FDU is 3-6 against the Bulldogs in the Rothman Center, and the Bulldogs have won each of the last six games in Hackensack.
 
SCOUTING BRYANT
The Bulldogs (6-12, 4-3 NEC) are coming off a 72-60 win over CCSU on Saturday, their second straight NEC win after previously losing three of their last four. Bryant ended the game with a 10-0 run vs. CCSU to earn the win, and two players finished with double-doubles in Sydney Holloway (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Hannah Scanlan (17 points, 12 rebounds). Holloway is the NEC leader in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and leads the team with 17.7 ppg this season. Kierra Palmer averages 4.1 assists per game to lead the team. Bryant earned non-conference wins in its first two games of the season, at UMass Lowell and vs. Brown. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fourth in the NEC preseason poll.
 
AROUND THE NEC
Robert Morris earned a win over Wagner to remain unbeaten, while Sacred Heart suffered its first NEC loss of the season at Saint Francis U. Sacred Heart faces Robert Morris on Monday night in a battle between the top two teams in the NEC standings. Also on the docket for Monday's NEC slate is Wagner at Saint Francis U, St. Francis Brooklyn at Mount St. Mary's, and LIU Brooklyn at Central Connecticut State.