NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball freshman Sierra DeAngelo recorded a career-high 15 points as FDU fell on the road to Merrimack, 62-51.
 
The Knights (7-12, 4-4 NEC) matched the Warriors (12-7, 5-3 NEC) point-for-point through halftime in their first-ever meeting, but the Warriors opened up a 10-point lead in the third quarter and held off a late surge by the Knights to claim the win.
 
"We knew what was going to be open against their zone and we just didn't execute the right way," head coach Angelika Szumilo said after the game. "Twenty-two turnovers and a lot of that because of indecisiveness resulted in a lot of walks."
 
DeAngelo tied her previous career-high of 13 points by the end of the third quarter and finished the game making 6-of-13 shots from the field and all three of FDU's free throws in the game. Sophomore Rachael Niles and senior Lauren Francillon each made four field-goals and grabbed four rebounds, while freshman Maria Roters filled the stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Freshman Aniya Bell matched her season-high of six rebounds and also contributed six points.
 
"Sierra did well identifying what was open," Szumilo said. "She got into the paint and upfaked, her and Aniya I thought offensively weren't timid, but Sierra did a good job on the offensive end."
 
Francillon and Niles scored FDU's first nine points to help their team carry a one-point lead midway through the opening period. The Warriors then gained a four-point advantage, but the Knights countered with the next five points starting with a Bell jumper followed by three DeAngelo free throws, making it 14-13 at the end of one quarter.
 
The two teams continued to play defensive minded into the second quarter, with the margin staying within four points. FDU regained the lead after a Merrimack mini-run to start when sophomore Madeline Selvaggi stole a pass at midcourt that led to a transition layup for DeAngelo, and freshman Celia Carbonell also swiped a pass and finished the fast break herself to make it 22-20. The Knights grew their lead up to four on a Roters layup, but the Warriors climbed back to tie the game at halftime, 28-28.
 
The Warriors then turned up the defensive pressure on the Knights in the third quarter, limiting FDU to six points in the first nine minutes of the period while building a 10-point lead by the end of the quarter.
 
Bell started the fourth period for FDU with a short jumper, and Carbonell finished an offensive rebound to cut the margin down to eight at 48-40 with nine minutes left. Merrimack, however, grew its lead up to 13 with five minutes left, but the Knights fought back down the stretch as Niles started a 9-2 run on a layup with four minutes to go.
 
A three-pointer by Boyd later dropped the margin down to six points, 57-51, with 52 seconds remaining, but the Knights were stopped on each of their next three possessions to end the game.
 
FDU shot 39 percent from the field and were held to just 2-of-9 from three-point range, while Merrimack finished the game shooting 46.3 percent from the floor, making six threes and free throws as well. The Knights held the advantage on the glass, 34-31, and dished out 12 assists while recording eight steals and forcing 22 Merrimack turnovers.
 
The Knights return home to the Rothman Center for their next contest on Saturday, February 1, against Mount St. Mary's at 1 p.m. FDU will be hosting Alumni Day as well as hosting National Girls and Women in Sports Day as part of in-game festivities, with kids 12 and under admitted free to the game. Tickets for the game may be purchased in advance online at fduknights.com/tickets.