HACKENSACK, N.J. – Behind a double-double from senior Lauren Francillon, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team earned its second straight victory with a 67-58 win at home against Siena Thursday night.
 
The Knights (2-7) led for the majority of the game and benefited from another strong shooting night, making 46.2 percent of their field goals and 40 percent of their three-pointers, while holding the Saints (2-7) to just 4-of-17 shooting in the fourth quarter. The Knights also dished out a season-high 18 assists and rallied down the stretch after the Saints took a two-point lead with 5:28 to go, outscoring the Saints 16-5 in the final five minutes.
 
Francillon finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, making 9-of-12 shots from the floor in recording her second double-double of the season. Freshman Maria Roters netted a season-high 15 points on 5-of-7 field goals, making all three of her shots from beyond the arc. Sophomore Lindsey Mack made three triples and scored 11 points, and junior Madison Stanley finished one point shy of a double-double with 9 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
 
"We definitely played them tough," head coach Angelika Szumilo said. "We needed to adjust to their physicality in the second half, and we had to match that in order to stop their run. This is another game where we outrebounded the opposing team. Everyone that played contributed a little bit of something, and Lauren had another huge game. Also 18 assists on 24 field goals means we did a great job of sharing the ball."
 
Sophomore Rachael Niles led the Knights with a career-high of six assists, her second straight game with at least five helpers. Sophomore Makayla Thompson also dished out three assists, and senior Courtney Blankenship added five points and six rebounds.
 
Five early points from Stanley helped the Knights gain an early lead, and Roters connected on her first three-point try to make it 10-4 Knights four minutes into the game. Siena made a run to climb within one point before Francillon scored the next five points to build the FDU advantage back to six.
 
Roters' second three of the game later made it 24-19, but Siena continued to fight back and made it a one-point game again midway through the second period. The Knights then closed out the half on a 10-3 run, with Mack draining a three at the halftime horn to send the teams into the locker room at 36-28.
 
Another Mack three-pointer grew FDU's lead to 10, and Niles followed with a triple to provide the Knights their largest lead at 49-36. Siena, however, closed the gap down to three by the end of the period and later took its first lead on a layup with 5:28 remaining.
 
Coming out of a FDU timeout, Francillon hit a turnaround jumper to even the score, and Thompson drove down the lane before kicking out to an open Stanley for a jumper on the next possession to make it 55-53 Knights. Siena tied the game with two free throws before Francillon swished another short jumper in the paint off a feed from Niles with 3:34 left.
 
With under three minutes to play, Mack sank a clutch three-pointer from the wing to give her team a five-point cushion. Siena came back to within two points with 1:51 left, but the Knights locked down on defense in not allowing another Saints point while making five of six free throws down the stretch to close out the win.
 
"We've talked about those close games we had early in the season, and as much as it hurt to lose those games where we should have won, they put us in a position where in another close game we know what to do," Szumilo said. "We did a good job of staying composed, hitting foul shots when it matters most, and taking care of the ball at the end of the game."
 
FDU outrebounded Siena 40-30, including a 30-19 advantage on defensive rebounds. FDU held Siena to 38.3 percent shooting in the game and only 4-of-13 (30.8) from beyond the arc. As a team, the Knights made 9-of-10 free throws.
 
The Knights have a quick turnaround before their next game, taking the court again on Saturday at Saint Peter's at 1 p.m., in their second-to-last non-conference game of the season.