HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball continues its weekend road swing with a trip to Sacred Heart Monday night for a 6 p.m. game.
 
The contest will be streamed live for free on NEC Front Row, and live stats will be provided at www.sacredheartpioneers.com.
 
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (6-15, 3-7 NEC) started Saturday's game at St. Francis Brooklyn shooting 59.1 percent from the field and finished with a 49 percent field goal percentage but fell to St. Francis, 73-61. The team shooting percentage for the Knights was their best since the season-opening win over Rutgers-Newark (51.4 percent). FDU shot 50 percent or better in three of the four periods during the game, but the Terriers took advantage of a big third quarter to go up by double-digits after taking a three-point lead into halftime. The Knights dropped the margin to as little as nine but could not get closer in the fourth period.
 
MILESTONES REACHED (AND ALMOST REACHED)
Senior Madelynn Comly led the Knights with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting against St. Francis Brooklyn and in the process moved past 900 career points. She started the game going 6-of-6 from the floor and passed the 900-point threshold on her second basket, finishing the game with 916 career points. Junior Lauren Francillon blocked two shots and grabbed four rebounds to go with 12 points, putting her close to career milestones of 100 blocks (needs one more) and 500 rebounds (needs 12 more). Comly is also eight assists away from reaching 200 career assists, and she needs to average 10.5 points per game the rest of the season to become the 18th Knight with 1,000 career points. Comly has been averaging 10.4 ppg in 10 NEC games thus far.
 
DOUBLE STANLEY
Sophomore Madison Stanley continued her stellar sophomore season by posting her first career double-double at St. Francis Brooklyn, scoring 13 points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds in 31 minutes. Stanley also blocked two shots while shooting 5-of-8 from the field and making 3-of-4 free throws. Stanley is second on the Knights in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and blocks (1.1 bpg) and has the highest field goal percentage on the team (.447).
 
DEFENSIVE MINDSET
The Knights through 21 games have proven to be one of the better defensive teams in the NEC, ranking second in the league in three-point field goal defense (.296), steals per game (9.0) and blocks per game (4.1) while placing third in turnover margin (+0.7) and points allowed (64.9). Senior Natalie Zamora leads the league in steals per game (2.3) and senior Peniel M'Bikata is fifth in the NEC with 1.8 steals per game.
 
SERIES SCORE
Sacred Heart leads the all-time series with FDU, 29-5, but the two teams split the two meetings last season, with the home team the victor in each contest. The Knights first defeated the Pioneeers in the Rothman Center, 69-59, but the Pioneers returned the favor with a 61-48 win in the Pitt Center. Francillon and Zamora each scored in double figures in the Knights' home win, and Comly scored 13 in the road loss. FDU has not had success when playing at Sacred Heart, with an 0-17 mark when playing the Pioneers on the road, but the Knights are 4-5 overall in the last nine meetings with the Pioneers.
 
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
The Pioneers (11-10, 7-3) ended their three-game losing streak Saturday with a 76-41 home win over Mount St. Mary's. The Pioneers benefited from five players scoring in double figures, led by graduate senior Katherine Haines who tallied 19 points. Sacred Heart is tied for second place in the NEC standings with St. Francis Brooklyn and Saint Francis U. Haines leads the team with 16.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg and 2.1 bpg with a 47.3 percent shooting clip. Candice Leatherwood, who averages 10.9 ppg, leads the Pioneers with 2.9 assists per game. Sacred Heart earned non-conference wins over Siena, New Hampshire, Hofstra and Manhattan and started conference play at 6-0 before losses to Saint Francis U, Robert Morris and St. Francis Brooklyn in consecutive games. The Pioneers were picked to finish third in the league in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
AROUND THE NEC
Robert Morris continued its undefeated run and sits at 10-0 in the NEC, with Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U and St. Francis Brooklyn each three games back. Wagner improved to 5-5 with a road win at LIU Brooklyn, and Bryant and Mount St. Mary's sit just above FDU with a 4-6 conference mark. Other matchups on Monday night include Bryant at Saint Francis U, Central Connecticut at Robert Morris, Mount St. Mary's at LIU Brooklyn, and St. Francis Brooklyn at Wagner.