HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team plays its final home non-conference game Thursday night at 7 p.m., against Siena in the Rothman Center.

FDU (1-7, 0-0 NEC) vs. Siena College (2-6, 0-0 MAAC)
Thursday, Dec. 19 | 7 PM | Rothman Center - Hackensack, N.J.
Watch: NEC Front Row
Links: Live Stats | Twitter | Instagram

All-Time Series
Siena 8, FDU 4
at FDU: FDU leads, 3-2
Last Meeting: Siena 72, FDU 63 (12/30/15)

Last Time Out
The Knights 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.
 
FDU 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. The Knights 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.

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.

Coach Szumilo's Thoughts
"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."

"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."

What's Next
The Knights end non-conference play on the road, playing at St. Peter's Saturday at 1 p.m., before going to face UMass Lowell on Sunday, December 29, at 2 p.m., after a week-long break for the holidays.