HACKENSACK, N.J. – In a battle of the top two defenses in the NEC, senior Madison Stanley connected on a game-winning jumper with 1.1 seconds to go to propel the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team (11-7, 7-6 NEC) to a 50-48 victory over Wagner (7-3, 7-2 NEC) on Saturday afternoon from the Rothman Center in the Play4Kay game. FDU held Wagner to a season-low 48 points in the victory and 34.5 percent from the floor. 

Stanley, FDU's season-leading scorer delivered in the fourth quarter as she scored six of her 12 points for the game over the final 2:10 of action. Freshman Chloe Wilson nearly registered a double-double with nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Junior Lindsey Mack led the team in points with 13, including three made three-pointers.

Coach Szumilo's Thoughts
"We got it done on the defensive end and that's where it starts and ends with us," stated coach Szumilo following the victory. "You can't control whether or not your shots are going to go in, but you have to always know you can rely on defense and that's what we did today. We emphasized it leading up to the game and Wagner is 7-2 in conference for a reason, and this was a great win for us."

Going into the last possession, coach Szumilo said, "We told Madison to not overthink it and see what you have and this is a play we run for her a lot and she made the right choice at the right time." 

"Winning close games, losing close games, you always learn from them and it is obviously nice to learn from a win, but either way it is a great learning opportunity and we were down and came back on the defensive end."

When asked about Monday's road contest against Wagner, coach Szumilo stated, "We need to limit turnovers and just stay composed. Weather the storm if it comes and stay composed through 40 minutes. Their going to make a run, we're going to make a run and that's okay, it's all part of the game." 

Full Postgame Press Conference

How it Happened

• FDU jumped out to an early 8-2 lead on buckets from sophomores Maria Roters and Sierra DeAngelo, junior Lindsey Mack, and senior Madison Stanley, and the FDU defense held Wagner to shoot only 25% from the floor and score seven points as FDU led 13-7 after one quarter of action in which five Knights scored points.
• Wagner opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run over the first 2:41 of action, but freshman Chloe Wilson gave FDU the lead back at 19-18 with a layup through contact and a pair of free throws as FDU led the rest of the half and outscored Wagner by one point the rest of the period to take a 26-24 advantage into the locker room.
• Each team traded baskets early in the second half as FDU led 28-27 with 7:32 to go in the period before Mack connected on a pair of three-pointers to help propel a 10-4 run as FDU held a 38-31 lead with 4:32 to go in the third.
• Over the final 4:32 of the third period, Wagner got as close as one point from the lead on a pair of free throws from junior Emilija Krista Grava, but Stanley converted a post move with her left-hand to help give FDU a 44-41 advantage through three quarters. 
• Both defenses ramped up the intensity over the first 5:16 of the fourth quarter as the only two points during that time came on a bucket from Krista Grava as Wagner trailed 44-43 and the Seahawks scored the next three points to take a 46-44 lead with 3:21 to go.
• After Krista Grava pushed the lead to four, Stanley stepped up and scored the games next four points on a layup and jumper to tie the game at 48-48 with 1:25 remaining.
• After a Wilson steal with 0:23 to go, FDU drew up a play out of the timeout for Stanley, who drove into the paint and connected on a contested jumper with 1.1 seconds to give FDU a 50-48 lead and FDU's defense forced a miss at the buzzer to hang on for the victory. 

Inside the Box Score

• FDU shot 42.2 percent from the floor and connected on 19 shots in the contest.
• The Burgundy and Blue outrebounded Wagner by a 37-31 margin.
• The Knights dished out five assists and scored 30 points in the paint.
• FDU forced 10 Wagner turnovers and recorded five steals.
• Krista Grava led Wagner with 18 points on 7-14 shooting.
• Six FDU players scored at least two points in the game and five tallied at least six points.

What's Next
FDU will travel to Staten Island for the second game of the home-and-home series against Wagner on Monday at 7:00 p.m. from the Spiro Sports Center.