HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team suffered a 57-45 home loss to Bryant on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Knights (4-9, 1-1 NEC), who entered the day having won four of their last five games, outscored the Bulldogs (3-10, 1-1 NEC) 22-18 after the first period to take a 31-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Bryant, however, netted 27 points in the final period to build up a lead that FDU could not overcome down the stretch.
 
Junior Madison Stanley led the Knights with 12 points and five rebounds, and sophomore Lindsey Mack added eight points, four rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Rachael Niles contributed six points and five rebounds, while freshman Jayde Boyd scored six points and pulled down four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
 
"Despite not shooting well, we were in the game for three quarters," head coach Angelika Szumilo said after the game. "But in the fourth quarter, our shooters could not get the shots they normally get, and they did a good job of taking our post players away and bothering them. We allowed that to affect us on the defensive end, and that's something we definitely have to address. There are going to be games we don't shoot well, but we cannot let that affect what we do on defense."
 
FDU in the game was held to 29.1 percent shooting from the floor and 22.2 percent from three. The Knights did force 18 Bryant turnovers on defense, but Bryant had a 42-34 advantage on the boards. The two teams combined to take 45 free throws, with Bryant making 18-of-28 to FDU's 9-of-17.
 
Both teams started off slow on offense, with FDU matching Bryant basket-for-basket through most of the opening period. Layups from Stanley and senior Lauren Francillon netted FDU's first four points, and a three from Niles later tied the game at 7-7 before Francillon answered a Bryant basket with another layup. The Bulldogs then drained a three-pointer late in the quarter to take a three-point advantage.
 
Boyd scooped in a layup to bring the Knights back within one at the start of the second period, but Bryant answered with 10 of the next 13 points to go up 22-14. With under four minutes until halftime, FDU went on a 9-3 run that included a Stanley three and driving layup and was capped off by a Boyd layup to beat the halftime horn, sending the teams to locker room with Bryant leading 25-23.
 
Freshman Maria Roters drove for a layup and tied the game again to begin the second half, and Mack later drilled a three from the wing off a Niles assist to provide FDU its first lead of the game at 28-27. Another Roters layup and a Boyd free throw upped the Knights lead to four, and the defenses for both teams did not allow a point over the next 5:30 of the quarter before a Bulldogs three ended the dry spell.
 
Bryant later regained the lead on its first basket of the fourth period and stretched that lead to five before back-to-back Stanley baskets brought the margin back down to one, 36-35. The Bulldogs, however, rebounded to increase the margin further and held FDU to just three field goals in the final six minutes of the game to earn the win.
 
FDU totaled a season-high 10 steals in the contest, including three by senior Courtney Blankenship, and also collected 17 free throw attempts, the most in a game this season. The Knights, however, only totaled five assists after having averaged 14.1 assists per game over their previous seven games.
 
The Knights continue the NEC home stretch with a day-time contest against Saint Francis U on Wednesday, January 8. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. as FDU will be hosting Kids' Day festivities before, during and after the game. Tickets are available for purchase in advance online at fduknights.com/tickets.