HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team played a strong first half in their home opener against Loyola University Maryland but could not sustain momentum into the second half, falling 75-46 on Wednesday night.
 
The Knights (0-2) erased a 10-point deficit to even the score at 16 after one period, and they eventually took the lead in the second period. The two teams traded scores back and forth through the rest of the half, with Loyola taking a three-point lead into the break, but the Greyhounds (1-2) controlled play in the second half, limiting the Knights to just 16 second-half points.
 
Freshman Sierra DeAngelo led the way for the Knights with 13 points and six rebounds while also recording an assist and a block in 25 minutes off the bench. Junior Madison Stanley also reached double figures with 12 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Lindsey Mack added 11 points with three made three-pointers.
 
"It was a tale of two halves," head coach Angelika Szumilo said after the game. "We have to learn how to put two halves together. I thought we had a pretty decent first half, but unfortunately in the second half our inability to put the ball in the basket really affected our defense. We allowed 34 points off our turnovers, and I think that's the biggest difference. Can't win a lot of games when that happens."
 
Freshmen Maria Roters and Celia Carbonell each collected their first collegiate points of their careers in the game, with Roters finishing with six points, two rebounds and two steals. Freshman Aniya Bell also pulled down six rebounds and stole two balls.
 
The Greyhounds opened the game with a 11-3 advantage but a Mack three-pointer helped the Knights climb back within five midway through the first period. Loyola then made the next two baskets to go up by 10, but a Stanley layup with 1:30 to go in the period started a 10-0 run for the Knights. DeAngelo sank two threes during the run, including her second that ended the period with the Knights evening the score at 16-16.
 
FDU again fought back from down five to start the second period, with threes from Mack and DeAngelo providing FDU its first lead of the game at 22-21. The Greyhounds then regained the lead before Roters eventually tied it back up at 26-26 on a nifty layup with an assist from Bell. Loyola, however, ended the half making a layup, a three and two free throws, putting them up 33-30 at halftime.
 
The Greyhounds then extended their lead to 10 to start the second half and built the advantage up to 17 by the end of the third quarter.
 
As a team, FDU shot 44 percent from the field in the first half, making 11-of-25 shots, but finished the game shooting 30.8 percent. Loyola made 45.9 percent of its shot attempts and outrebounded the Knights, 39-35. FDU produced 10 assists and seven steals in the game.
 
The Knights take two days to prepare for their next game on Saturday, hosting Manhattan at 12 p.m., in the Rothman Center. Tickets for the game can be purchased in advance online at fduknights.com/tickets.