EMMITSBURG, Md. – Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball senior forward Lauren Francillon turned in a monster game of 33 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Knights to a 66-63 road win at Mount St. Mary's, clinching the number three seed for the Knights in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament.
 
The Knights (12-17, 9-9 NEC) will be hosting a NEC Quarterfinal game in the Rothman Center for the first time since 1997. It will be the fourth time in program history the Knights will play a home NEC playoff game, and the no. 3 seed in the tournament is the highest for the Knights since the 1992-93 season when they tied for the regular-season title.
 
"This shows to the growth of our players from game one to game 29," head coach Angelika Szumilo said. "I'm just extremely happy for them because we never lost trust in the process and we just got better and better. To finish number three is very special, and I know the team is very excited about that."
 
FDU will be playing the six-seed Bryant in the quarterfinal round on Monday, March 9, at 7 p.m.
 
Francillon scored her 33 points, a career-high, on a career-best 14-of-19 shooting night that included hitting five of seven threes, also a career-best. She also passed the 700 career rebound threshold with her third board of the game, becoming the eighth player in program history to reach the feat. The senior scored 22 of her 33 points in the second half, helping ignite multiple runs that provided the boost the Knights needed to win.
 
"When you talk about a player in the zone, that is what she was tonight," Szumilo said. "She was hitting two's, three's, fadeaways, pull-up jumpers, and she was totally in the zone today. She was the difference maker on both ends today."  
 
The Knights finished the game shooting an even 50 percent from the field (24-of-48) and made 11-of-14 free throws as well while holding the Mountaineers (19-11, 14-4 NEC), who will be the no. 2 seed in the NEC Tournament, to just 31.7 percent shooting. The Knights also dominated on the glass, 44-23, and dished out 11 assists. Francillon recorded four of FDU's five blocks in the game as well.
 
"I think this gives us a lot of confidence," Szumilo said. "Our team believed before the game that we could beat them, and that's where it starts. To get that win on the road against a good Mount St. Mary's team just adds to their confidence, and now to have a home game, I'm just so happy for them."
 
Sophomore Rachael Niles added 14 points and seven rebounds, making all eight of her free throw attempts that included four critical freebies in the fourth quarter. Freshman Maria Roters led FDU with five assists while adding eight points and five rebounds, and freshman Aniya Bell also added six points and five boards.
 
Francillon scored the first four points of the game to give FDU the early lead, but the Mount stormed back with the next eight points before Roters drove in for a layup. Francillon then netted another layup to tie the game back up at 8, and the senior passed in to a cutting Roters for a basket that gave FDU a 10-8 lead.
 
The Mount later retook the lead on a three-pointer, but Niles knotted the game at 12-12 with two free throws. FDU then gained the two-point lead at the end of the period on a Celia Carbonell layup, and Francillon hit a three to make it a 17-12 game.
 
A Mountaineer run then tied the game at 19 before Bell drove in for a strong finish on a layup. The advantage continued to swing back and forth through the remainder of the half until Mount climbed in front at the half, 26-23.
 
FDU fell behind by nine to start the third period but rallied back to within four on Francillon's second three-pointer of the night, making it 35-31. The FDU senior continued her team's 10-0 run with five more points, and the Knights took a 40-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Mount regained the lead to start the fourth quarter, going on a 7-0 run before Francillon drilled her fourth triple of the night from the corner to make it 46-43. Francillon continued to pour in points to keep matching Mount's scoring, and Niles later contributed a driving layup to put FDU in front 50-49.
 
Baskets from Francillon and Niles later made it 54-52 Knights, and two Niles free throws helped bump the lead up to four. A Mount basket cut the lead to two with four minutes to go, but FDU rallied to go up 60-54 before a Mount three-pointer made it a three-point game with 1:30 left to play.
 
Big buckets by Francillon and Bell kept the Knights in front but Mount then answered with a three to cut the deficit to one with less than 30 seconds to go. Niles then drew a foul and hit two big free throws to put FDU in front by three, 66-63, with 24.5 to go, and FDU held off three different three-point tries from the Mountaineers to win the game.
 
FDU's 9-9 finish in the NEC is the best for the team since the 2008-09 season.