WASHINGTON – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team fought a close battle with Howard University on Saturday afternoon with three players reaching double-digit point totals but fell on the road, 64-56.
 
The Knights (0-7) clawed back from a first-period deficit of seven to go into halftime down by just two, 26-24, but could not hold off the Bison (5-4) down the stretch, with Howard outscoring FDU 38-32 in the second half.
 
"We just have to come out of the halftime locker room more focused," head coach Angelika Szumilo said after the game. "We started the second half with two turnovers and that added fuel to the fire. We were able to get back in the game with our defense, but unfortunately we fell asleep on two crucial possessions in the fourth quarter, and when the game's on the line, you can't do that."
 
Three Knights scored in double figures, led by Madison Stanley with 15 points to go with three rebounds. Playing in her hometown, freshman Aniya Bell poured in 14 points for her first career game in double figures, and senior Lauren Francillon notched 11 points while grabbing seven rebounds as well.
 
"It was a homecoming for Aniya and I knew she was going to be ready for it," Szumilo said. "She did a great job, came in and gave us instant points offensively. Madison was in foul trouble a little bit so she didn't play as many minutes but was efficient, and Lauren had her second game in a row where she was playing with a lot of confidence. We just have to continue to get better and focus on the little things we're still not doing to help us get better results."
 
Stanley scored the first four FDU points and sophomore Rachael Niles sank a three followed by a Francillon jumper to make it 10-9 in the first five minutes. The FDU junior later made a jumper to keep the Knights within two, but Howard closed out the period scoring the final five points to take a 18-11 lead after one.
 
Howard extended its lead to 11 in the second period, but FDU climbed back within five by going on a 6-0 run, with freshman Maria Roters hitting a three and a jumper to notch five of the six points. Bell then closed the half with four straight points to help the Knights outscore Howard in the period, 13-8, and cut the deficit down to two at the halftime break.
 
Stanley answered a Howard bucket with a lefty layup to start the second half, but the Bison responded with the next four points before Francillon hit a three-pointer to make it 32-29. Freshman Aniya Bell than banked in a short jumper to cut the deficit to one.
 
Francillon made a short two off an offensive rebound to answer another Howard basket, but the Bison then went on a run to take a 42-33 lead before Bell ended the run with a two-pointer to close the period.
 
Sophomore Lindsey Mack drilled a three-pointer after a Howard basket to start the fourth quarter, and Bell later sank a jumper from the wing while drawing a foul, making the free throw to make it a three-point game at 44-41. Stanley then spun left to make a layup after a Bison basket, and a breakaway layup from Elise Graham dropped the margin to two points, 47-45.
 
The Bison then sank a three-pointer before freshman Jayde Boyd made a tough runner in the lane, but the Bison made a run to go up by 10 with two minutes left before two Francillon free throws and a Stanley three brought the margin back down to five with 1:15 to go.
 
Bell drained a jumper with less than minute left to bring the Knights within six, but Howard made free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
 
FDU shot 33.3 percent from the field and from deep while making 9-of-13 free throws (69.2 percent), while Howard made 36.1 percent of its shots, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, and also sank 15 of 23 foul shots. The Knights outrebounded the Bison, 49-37, and dished out 10 assists but committed 18 turnovers compared to Howard's 14.
 
The Knights make a shorter road trip for their next game, traveling down the New Jersey Turnpike to take on NJIT Tuesday night at 7 p.m.