NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team battled back from down by 10 points in the third quarter and senior
Madelynn Comly sank the game-winning shot with 13 seconds left to help provide a 66-63 road win at Central Connecticut State Monday night.
The Knights (7-21, 4-13 NEC) trailed 45-35 with 3:46 left in the third period and climbed all the way back to eventually take a lead on a
Lindsey Mack three-pointer with 3:04 left in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils (7-20, 4-12 NEC) regained a four-point advantage, but freshman
Rachael Niles then made a key three-pointer to bring the Knights within one with under a minute to go.
CCSU then missed a layup and two free throws to set the Knights up with a chance to go ahead. Comly provided the winning score on a layup with 13.1 seconds left, and the Knights then locked down defensively on two straight possessions as Niles sank two key free throws in the final seconds to help earn the victory.
With the win, the Knights move into a tie for the eighth and final Northeast Conference Tournament spot with the Blue Devils with one game remaining. The Knights have a tiebreaker with CCSU due to a season sweep, and a win Thursday night against LIU Brooklyn will clinch the playoff berth for FDU.
Comly led the Knights with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds. Niles and Mack each made four three-pointers and finished with 14 points apiece, which for both players eclipsed their previous highs of 12. Mack was 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-8 from three, while Niles made 4-of-5 threes and dished out three assists with two steals as well.
The win represented the largest comeback win of the season for the Knights and snapped a nine-game losing streak when playing at CCSU.
"Very proud of the team for never giving in," head coach
Peter Cinella said after the game. "I thought we were playing well in spurts but then they had a couple of good runs and we were down 10 in the third quarter, but we kept fighting for every loose ball."
"Those loose balls led to clutch threes by our two freshmen, Rachael and Lindsey," Cinella continued. "For them to hit that many huge threes in the second half and for Rachael to make those free throws, but what can you say about Maddie Comly. She was dominant from the beginning, and when we were down one with 23 seconds left we certainly called her number and she came through with a tough, in-traffic shot to hit the game winner."
The Knights made a season-best 41.7 percent of their three-pointers (10-of-24) and shot 45.5 percent from the floor and 75 percent at the foul line. The Knights also outrebounded CCSU, 33-29, and dished out 14 assists while also winning the turnover battle, 14-12.
Sophomore
Madison Stanley grabbed seven rebounds and added eight points while blocking two shots, and the NEC's leader in steals, senior
Natalie Zamora, made three steals for FDU.
Comly drained a three from the corner to give FDU an early lead, but the Blue Devils responded with six straight to take their first lead before Comly drove for a reverse layup to make it 6-5. CCSU then hit a three-pointer before Comly made another layup to cut the deficit to two.
The senior continued her hot start by making a long jumper to tie the game, and Mack connected on a three in transition to provide the Knights the lead again at 12-9. Mack later drained another three off a nice pass inside out from junior
Charee Osborne, helping FDU take a 15-11 advantage after one period.
CCSU retook the lead with an 8-0 to start the second quarter before Stanley ended the run with a layup to make it 19-17. Two Comly free throws tied the game again before the Blue Devils took a two-point lead on a jumper.
Junior
Lauren Francillon then answered another CCSU jumper with a long two of her own, making it 23-21, and senior
Peniel M'Bikata later helped keep the deficit at two with a driving layup. CCSU, however, then scored seven straight points to go up by nine before Niles ended the run with a three from the wing. The Blue Devils kept the lead into halftime, 34-26.
Comly opened the second half by driving to her left for a layup to cut the deficit to six, but CCSU answered with a three to make it 37-28. Comly and Stanley then scored on back-to-back plays to cut the lead to five, and Niles sank a three-pointer to match a three-point Blue Devil play to keep the margin at five.
CCSU then stretched its lead to 10 with the next five points before Mack answered with her third three-pointer and a layup to make it 45-40. Junior
Courtney Blankenship then dropped the margin to three with two free throws, and Stanley hooked in a reverse layup to make it a two-point game at 46-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Devils made a three to open the final period, but Comly answered with an offensive rebound and putback and Niles tied the game with her third three-pointer. CCSU then retook a five-point lead before M'Bikata answered with a three to make it 54-52 with five minutes left.
Mack continued her hot shooting night with a big three that gave the Knights a 55-54 lead, and after a CCSU three, Francillon answered with a layup to tie the game at 59 with two minutes to go.
CCSU retook the advantage with two straight baskets, but Niles drained a three to make it 63-62 with less than a minute left. CCSU then missed two free throws and Comly grabbed the rebound to allow the Knights to call timeout and advance with 23.1 seconds left.
With the shot clock turned off, Comly made a tough layup in the paint to give the Knights a 64-63 advantage, and the senior corralled a defensive rebound off a CCSU missed layup on the next possession. Niles then made two key free throws, and the Knights defended a CCSU last-second three to hold on for the win.
The Knights will honor their five graduating players – Comly, Zamora, M'Bikata, senior
Lucia Serrano-Ranz and graduate senior
Emmanuella Edoka – in a pregame ceremony as part of Senior Night on Thursday. Tip-off against LIU Brooklyn is at 7 p.m. in the Rothman Center.
"We know what we got to do," Cinella said. "We'll get back at it tomorrow at practice and find a way to win at home on Thursday night and clinch a playoff berth."
