HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team starts a two-game homestand to close out the month of November with a matchup against Binghamton Saturday at 1 p.m.

FDU (0-4, 0-0 NEC) vs. Binghamton (5-0, 0-0 America East)
Saturday, Nov. 23 | 1 PM | Rothman Center - Hackensack, N.J.
Watch: NEC Front Row
Links: Live Stats | Twitter | Instagram 
 
All-Time Series
Binghamton leads 3-2
at Rothman Center ... 1-1
Streak ... L2
Last Meeting... Binghamton 73, FDU 54 (11/30/18 at Binghamton)
The Knights fought back from a double-digit deficit to take a lead in the third period at Binghamton before ultimately falling by a score of 73-54. FDU trailed at one point in the second period by 10 points before going on a 7-0 run to close the first half, and a "and-one" play from senior Natalie Zamora eventually put the Knights ahead 39-36 in the third period. However, the Bearcats shot the ball well from the field in the second half and amassed another lead that the Knights could not overcome. Senior Peniel M'Bikata led the team with 14 points, five rebounds and four steals, making all four of her foul shots and 4-of-9 field goals. Sophomore Madison Stanley matched her then career-high set in the previous game vs. Howard, totaling 11 points to go with four rebounds. Zamora led the Knights with five assists and added nine points and four rebounds.

Last Time Out
The Knights took a lead into halftime at ACC-foe Pittsburgh but fell 69-60 on Tuesday afternoon in front of an electric crowd.

The Knights (0-4) started the game shooting well from deep, making nearly 40 percent of their attempts (9-of-23) in the first 20 minutes to carry a 38-37 lead into halftime. The Panthers (2-2) then outscored the Knights 19-12 in the third quarter, and despite a push by FDU to trim the margin down to four with four minutes left, the Panthers withstood the late charge to win the game.

FDU had four players score in double digits in the contest, led by sophomore Rachael Niles who netted 14 points and connected on three three-pointers to go with a team-high eight rebounds and three assists. Freshman Maria Roters netted a career-high 13 points and shot 5-of-9 from the floor while grabbing five boards. Senior Elise Graham matched a career-high in points with 11, and sophomore Lindsey Mack also netted 11 points to go with three assists. The Burgundy and Blue dished out 12 assists on 23 made field goals and pulled down 33 rebounds.

Coach Szumilo's Thoughts
"I'm very proud of the way our team competed today," head coach Angelika Szumilo said after the game. "I think we're definitely going in the right direction, and what I was most proud of is that I think we learned from the previous games. We never gave up, even when they went on a 10-0 run, I think we were able to stay afloat and stay in it, which in the past that might not have happened."

"This should give them a lot of confidence," Szumilo continued. "Offensively, we're going to be fine. We have people that can put the ball in the basket, Lindsey with her ability to shoot and Madison can do a little bit of everything. Elise and Maria really stepped up today, I thought they played great. For us, it's not about scoring, it's about getting better defensively and continuing to get better on defense."

"When we put our mind into it and believe, we can be a pretty good team," Szumilo concluded. "It really was a four-point game with a few minutes left, and if we executed a little better on offense, maybe it's a two-point game with 30 seconds left and it's a different story."
 
What's Next
The Knights wait through the holiday break next week before continuing the mini-homestand on Saturday, November 30, against Army West Point at 2 p.m.