SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Madelynn Comly continued her hot scoring streak with 16 points, but the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team fell on the road to Bryant, 68-48, on Monday afternoon.
 
Comly started the game making six of her first seven attempts from the field, including both of her early three-point attempts, in leading the Knights on the scoring attack. She achieved her fourth straight game scoring in double figures and is now at 958 career points.
 
The Knights (6-18, 3-10 NEC) struggled in the early portion of the game and fell behind by 12 after the first period. FDU was able to cut the deficit down to as little as six in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs (7-17, 5-8 NEC) continued to push on the offensive end and pulled away late in the fourth quarter.
 
Sophomore Madison Stanley was one rebound shy of her second double-double this season, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Senior Peniel M'Bikata contributed seven points, three assists and two steals, and senior Natalie Zamora led the Knights with three steals while grabbing five rebounds and scoring four points. Junior Lauren Francillon also grabbed five boards.
 
"They had a great start to the game," head coach Peter Cinella said after the game. "We zoned them the whole time last game, and they did a good job being aggressive. We were able to battle back and cut the lead to six. Maddie Comly and Maddie Stanley were in rhythm on offense. [Bryant] put together a good fourth quarter, but I do like how we controlled the second and third quarters."
 
Francillon netted the Knights' first points to even the game at 2-2 on a layup, and a M'Bikata layup followed by a Stanley basket kept the Knights within one halfway through the opening period. Bryant upped their lead to three before Comly laid in an offensive rebound, but the home team then responded with a 11-0 run to take a 20-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Bulldogs continued their run into the second period with four more points until Comly ended the streak with a three-pointer. Francillon later hit a long two to make it 26-15, and Comly drained another three to drop the margin to 10. Bryant responded with the next four points before a Comly jumper and a layup from junior Charee Osborne kept the Knights within 10, 32-22.
 
Bryant extended its lead to 11 at halftime, but the FDU defense created two turnovers and M'Bikata laid in a drive to the basket and drew a foul, helping the Knights to cut the deficit down to eight. Stanley then kept the margin at eight after a Bryant basket with a jumper to make it 38-30, and Comly then turned defense into offense with a steal and a layup to drop the deficit to six.
 
Stanley again followed a Bulldog basket with a turnaround jumper to make it 40-34, but the Bulldogs then scored four straight to regain a 10-point lead before Comly hit a tough shot in the lane to make it 44-36.
 
After Comly's basket, however, Bryant netted six of the next eight points to go back up by 12. Three M'Bikata free throws made it 50-40, but the Bulldogs ended the period with a three-pointer to increase the deficit to 13 heading into the final quarter.
 
Bryant then upped the advantage to 15 before a Rachael Niles free throw and a Stanley jumper made it 55-43 with less than five minutes remaining. The Bulldogs, however, kept the Knights from dropping the deficit any further and pulled away in the closing minutes.
 
FDU finished the game shooting 30.5 percent from the floor and made 9-of-13 free throws. The Knights finished with nine steals as well and held Bryant to just 4-of-17 from three-point range. The FDU interior defense held the NEC's leading rebounder, Bryant's Sydney Holloway, to just seven boards and eight points, both below her season averages of 11.7 rebounds and 16.9 points per game.
 
Bryant had the advantage on the boards, 43-35, and forced two more turnovers than FDU did, 17-15. The Bulldogs also had two players score in double figures, led by Hannah Scanlan with 18 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Knights return to the Rothman Center for their next game on Saturday, February 23, against Wagner at 2 p.m. The day also is the team's Alumnae Day for former players to come reunite with their fellow Knights, and it is also the team's designated "Knights Think Pink" game as well as NEC Kids Day.