FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team could not overcome an early deficit and early struggles shooting in a 68-53 loss at Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon.
 
The Knights (7-11, 4-3 NEC), who entered the game having won seven of their last 10 overall, were limited to just three makes from distance on 22 attempts and just 35 percent in the game, making 8-of-28 shots in the first 20 minutes. FDU grew stronger as the game went, making the last 9-of-18 field goals in the fourth quarter, but the Pioneers (7-11, 4-3 NEC) had built up a lead big enough to sustain a late FDU surge.
 
Senior Lauren Francillon led the Knights with 17 points in her first start of the season, also grabbing 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season to go along with three assists. Sophomore Rachael Niles netted a career-high of 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, matching her first-half point total with seven in the third quarter before breaking her previous career high with a layup in the fourth quarter. Freshman Maria Roters, who was named NEC Rookie of the Week on Wednesday, added nine points and six rebounds.
 
"Our shooting could've been better or could've been worse, but I really think scoring 53 points in a game is good enough to win games if you play defense," head coach Angelika Szumilo said after the game. "We really didn't do a good job of taking away their strengths, shooting threes and driving to the basket. We allowed them to do both."
 
Niles scored five of FDU's first six points with a driving layup and a three-pointer that made it 9-6. Freshman Sierra DeAngelo and Francillon each converted layups to help pull the Knights within two, but the Pioneers then went on a 11-0 run before Niles finished a layup to make it 23-12 early in the second period.
 
The Knights cut the deficit down to seven with the next four points, but Sacred Heart ended the half on a 12-4 run to make it 35-20 at halftime. FDU trimmed the margin down to as little as 11 on a three-pointer by Niles midway through the third period, but the Pioneers expanded their lead up to 20 by the end of the quarter to help put the game out of reach.
 
Francillon and Roters combined for 17 of the Knights' 22 points in the fourth period, with Francillon making four of her seven shots in the quarter and Roters finishing three layups to go with two free throws in the final 10 minutes of play.
 
FDU finished the game with a 38-35 advantage on the boards, and sophomore Lindsey Mack totaled three of her team's four blocks in the game. The Knights also made 8-of-10 free throws as a team. Sacred Heart ended the game with a 42.9 percentage from the field and beyond the arc.
 
The Knights have a quick turnaround before their next game, playing again Monday night on the road at 7 p.m., in the program's first-ever meeting with Merrimack.
 
"Merrimack is a similar team that can drive to the basket and shoot the ball really well but also different in that they play straight zone," Szumilo said. "It's a quick turnaround but we'll make our adjustments that we need to make and we'll see what happens."