HACKENSACK, N.J. – Coming off a big win over Bryant, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team wraps up its four-game home stand on Saturday afternoon against Robert Morris, with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
The game will be streamed live for free on NEC FrontRow, and live stats will be available at fduknights.com.
 
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (6-13, 3-5 NEC) played stellar defense down the stretch and rode a 12-2 fourth-period run to defeat Bryant by a score of 63-53 Monday night in the Rothman Center. After Bryant scored to go ahead 49-47 with less than seven minutes remaining, the Knights made defensive stops on each of Bryant's next six possessions and scored 10 straight points to take the lead for good. FDU also dominated on the boards against the NEC's best rebounding team, 42-33.
 
FRANCE-E-ON A ROLL
Junior Lauren Francillon has stepped up her play since the start of NEC games, averaging 14.5 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent at the charity stripe (24-of-28). Francillon has recorded three double-doubles in NEC games, including in two of her last three games. She also has 13 blocks in NEC games, with 10 of them happening in her last three games. Currently, Francillon ranks fourth in the NEC in free throw percentage, sixth in blocks (1.2 per game), seventh in rebounding (6.7 per game) and 14th in scoring (11.0 per game).
 
SENIORITY RULES
Three seniors played pivotal roles in helping the Knights defeat Bryant. Natalie Zamora led the Knights with 13 points, making 3-of-5 field goals and all seven of her free throw attempts. She also corralled five rebounds, recorded four steals and dished out three assists. Peniel M'Bikata recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds while making 6-of-7 free throws as well. Madelynn Comly, who is averaging 9.3 ppg in NEC games this season, contributed nine points as well.
 
DEFEND THE PERIMETER
The Knights lead the NEC in three-point field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 28.7 percent from beyond the arc. FDU has not allowed more than five made threes in five of its last six games, and opponents are averaging only 4.8 made threes per game on 16.7 attempts. The Knights limited the best three-point shooting team in the NEC, SFBK (.407), to just 3-of-17 from deep (.176) earlier this season and opponents have only made 33 percent of their three-pointers in six of 19 games against the Knights.
 
DEFENSIVE MENTALITY
FDU also ranks highly in the NEC in other defensive categories, ranking second in steals (9.4) and blocks (4.1) per game and third in turnover margin (+1.3) and points allowed (64.5). Zamora is the NEC's leader in steals with 2.4 per game and M'Bikata is sixth in the league with 1.8 per game. Along with Francillon, sophomore Madison Stanley also ranks among the top-10 in the conference in blocks (1.1 per game – eighth). FDU has allowed less than 70 points in five of eight NEC games this season. The Knights have forced at least 10 turnovers in 18 of 19 games this season.
 
SERIES SCORE
FDU is 24-42 all-time against Robert Morris heading into Saturday's game, and the Colonials have won four of the last five games between the teams played in the Rothman Center. Robert Morris already defeated FDU earlier this season in Moon Township, 71-49, despite the Knights outscoring RMU in the second half, 38-31. Francillon led the Knights with 20 points and eight rebounds, making 4-of-5 three-pointers in that game, and Comly added 14 points in 21 minutes off the bench. FDU is 14-17 all-time against the Colonials when playing in the Rothman Center.
 
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
The Colonials (11-8, 8-0 NEC) are alone in first place in the NEC, having won six of eight conference games by a double-digit margin. RMU is one of the better defensive teams in the NEC, leading the league in points allowed (55.9), field goal defense (.373), steals (10.4) and turnover margin (+3.5). In their most recent game, the Colonials defeated second-place Sacred Heart by a score of 64-46 at home. The Knights have the advantage over RMU at the free throw line, with FDU's NEC-leading .729 percentage from the line representing almost a full tenth of a better margin over RMU's percentage (.638), which is last in the league. Junior Nneka Ezeigbo leads the team with 10.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.9 spg and 1.1 bpg. Freshman Isabella Posset leads the team with 2.8 assists per game and has been honored as NEC Rookie of the Week three times this season. Robert Morris was picked as the preseason favorite in the NEC preseason poll, garnering five first-place votes.
 
AROUND THE NEC
FDU currently sits in a tie for seventh with Wagner in the NEC standings, with RMU alone in first place and Sacred Heart in second at 6-2. The remaining four teams ahead of the Knights are within two games of them in the standings. Saturday represents the halfway point of the conference season, and other games taking place include St. Francis Brooklyn (5-3) at Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U (5-3) at Mount St. Mary's (4-4), Bryant (4-4) at Central Connecticut (2-6) and LIU Brooklyn (0-8) at Wagner (3-5).