NEWARK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team shot 50 percent from the floor and sustained a lead through halftime to defeat NJIT on the road, 68-59, and give head coach Angelika Szumilo her first head coaching victory.
 
The Knights (1-7) made 24-of-48 shots from the floor and 8-of-17 three-pointers (47.1 percent), including 12-of-22 shots in the second half. FDU led 28-25 at halftime and outscored the Highlanders (3-7) 40-34 in the second half in gaining the road win. FDU led by as many as 10 points during stretches of the second half and made big shots down the stretch along with clutch free throws in the closing minutes while holding NJIT to under 60 points in the game.
 
"We talked a lot about how to defend them and our goal was to keep them under 60 points, and we felt if we did that, we would be in a good position to win the game," Coach Szumilo said after the game. "Everyone came in focused today, and everyone that played did a little of everything."
 
Senior Lauren Francillon led the way for the Knights with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Freshman Rachael Niles added 13 points to go with five rebounds and dished out a career-best five assists while making all eight of her free throw attempts. Junior Madison Stanley also scored in double figures with 12 points, and freshman Maria Roters contributed seven points and five rebounds.
 
"Lauren was unconscious in the second half, hitting jumper after jumper and threes after threes so that definitely helped us along with her rebounding and post defense," Szumilo said. "It feels great to get one off your back, but more importantly, I'm so happy for the girls because they've been working extremely hard and I wanted them to feel that feeling of winning. I don't want them to forget that feeling."
 
The Knights shot their season-bests from the field, three-point line and at the free throw line, making 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. They also outrebounded the Highlanders 33-21 and dished out a season-high 16 assists with only 10 turnovers.
 
Sophomore Makayla Thompson got the FDU offense going with a three-pointer, and freshman Sierra DeAngelo made a nice inside pass to a cutting Roters for a layup to put the Knights in front early. Freshman Celia Carbonell later hit a three to help FDU regain the lead, and Stanley followed with four straight points to make it 12-10 Knights.
 
Francillon then made a long two and Stanley drained a three from the top of the key at the buzzer to put FDU in front 17-10 at the end of the first quarter. Francillon continued her hot shooting with another jumper before the Highlanders made a three that started a 7-0 run before Niles ended it with a three.
 
FDU extended its lead back to six with a jumper in the lane by freshman Aniya Bell, but NJIT cut the lead back down to three with a minute to go as the teams entered halftime with the Knights ahead 28-25.
 
Roters immediately added to the Knights lead with a lefty layup, starting a back-and-forth battle to start the second half with each team matching basket for basket. NJIT, however, took the lead back with a layup to make it 37-36 before Francillon made a long two to put the Knights back on top. The Highlanders tied the game again with a free throw, but Francillon made a tough layup to give her team a 40-38 advantage.
 
The senior later extended her run of buckets with a three to grow the lead to seven, and a Roters three put the Knights ahead by double digits with a minute to go in the third.
 
FDU kept an eight-point lead, 48-40, heading into the final period, but NJIT cut the lead down to four with under five minutes remaining on a three-pointer. Senior Elise Graham then responded with a big three to make it 57-50, and Francillon hit a jumper from the elbow to stretch the lead to nine with three minutes left.
 
The Highlanders brought the score back within five before a Stanley free throw with 1:23 to go made it 60-54, and Niles made four free throws before a Highlanders three with 36.8 seconds left made it a five-point game. Niles, however, continued to make free throws down the stretch to help the Knights gain their first win of the year.
 
FDU returns home to the Rothman Center for its next game on Thursday, December 19, against Siena at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance online at fduknights.com/tickets.