HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team engaged in a tough defensive battle with Robert Morris but fell short in a 48-35 defeat in the Rothman Center.
 
The Knights (10-16, 7-8 NEC) held a one-point lead after the first quarter and expanded their lead to as many as seven in the second quarter, but the Colonials (20-7, 15-1 NEC) made run to tie the game at halftime and then expanded on their run early in the third period, limiting FDU to just five points in the third period.
 
Freshman Maria Roters led the Knights with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting to go with four rebounds and two assists. Senior Lauren Francillon finished one rebound shy of her second straight double-double, ending with 10 points, nine rebounds, four steals and a block. Sophomore Lindsey Mack also made two three-pointers to add six points, and freshman Aniya Bell pulled down a season-high seven rebounds to go with two points and two assists.
 
The Knights held the Colonials to just 32 percent from the floor in the game and did not allow a field goal over the entire fourth quarter to Robert Morris. FDU also pulled down 40 rebounds to Robert Morris' 34 in the game and did not allow any Colonial player to score in double figures.
 
"I'm very proud of our teams efforts and I thought this was one of our best defensive efforts of the season," head coach Angelika Szumilo said. "To hold this team to 48 points is pretty good, and they're a very good team, good defensively as well. It teaches us that if you play good defense, you can be in every game, and today had a couple more shots gone in, we would have been in a closer game. If you play good defense, you can be in a position to steal a game."
 
Roters and Francillon combined for seven of FDU's nine points in the opening quarter, with the Knights holding a lead as big as three on a jumper in the lane by sophomore Rachael Niles. Mack later sank her first three of the game to continue the FDU run into the second quarter, and her second three of the game made it 17-10 Knights midway through the period.
 
FDU kept its lead around seven on a Francillon jumper with 3:36 to go until halftime, but the Colonials hen scored the last seven points of the half to even the score at 21-21 at the break.
 
Robert Morris drained two threes to start the second half and go up by six before Bell put back an offensive rebound to cut the deficit down to four, but the Colonials then pushed their lead to double digits by holding FDU to just a Roters layup and a Jayde Boyd free throw over the final six minutes of the period.
 
The Knights continued to fight back, going on a 7-0 run over the first 4:23 of the final quarter, with Roters making a big three before Francillon swished a jumper to make it 40-33. The Colonials, however, then made eight straight free throws to close out the game while holding FDU to just a Roters layup over the last five minutes of the game.
 
FDU goes on the road for its next game, traveling to Rhode Island for a big NEC matchup with Bryant on Saturday, February 29, at 1 p.m., before returning home for its final regular-season home game against Wagner on Monday, March 2, at 7 p.m. Tickets for Monday's game can be purchased in advance online at fduknights.com/tickets.