HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team (13-7, 9-6 NEC) returned to the court for the first time in 13 days and defeated Sacred Heart (8-7, 8-5 NEC) 74-56 on Sunday afternoon from the Rothman Center. Four Knights reached double-figures in the victory. The win is FDU's fourth in a row and fifth in their past five contests.

FDU's 25 points in the first quarter were the most points in a frame that the team has scored this season and the most since the Knights scored 26 points in the fourth quarter against Mount St. Mary's last season on March 5. The Knights also made a season-high 29 shots from the floor.

Freshman Chloe Wilson netted a career-high 16 points on 5-11 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior Madison Stanley recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Maria Roters and junior Lindsey Mack also reached double-figures with 13 and 11 points respectively.

FDU is currently in fifth place in the NEC standings at 9-6 with three games to go. The top four teams in the NEC standings at the end of the year qualify for the NEC Tournament. Click this link for the current NEC standings.

Coach Szumilo's Thoughts
"You never really know how your team is going to react after so many days off, but you know I thought today it looked like we didn't have that break, so I thought we looked good on both ends of the court today," said Coach Szumilo following FDU's win over Sacred Heart. "We talk about our team's defense a lot and since last year that has been our emphasis. You can't really control what happens on offense, if you make shots or not, but you can always control your effort on defense."

"I'm sure Sacred Heart will make their adjustments and we'll have to make our adjustments and think about we can expect. Our players know what's at stake and so does Sacred Heart, so we just have to play hard, smart, and may the better team win."

Coach Szumilo Press Conference

How it Happened

• FDU jumped out to an early 10-3 lead over the first 2:57 of the game as sophomore Maria Roters and freshman Devyn Scott each registered four early points and the team was 5-5 from the floor.
• The Knights continued their hot start as they shot 12-15 from the floor (80%) in the first quarter and ended the frame on a 15-7 run led by eight points from Roters, five points from junior Lindsey Mack, and four points from senior Madison Stanley and freshman Taylor Crystian to take a 25-10 lead into the second quarter.
• Sacred Heart cut the deficit to nine points with 5:51 to go in the second, but Scott pushed the lead back up to 12 points by connecting on a three-pointer on the next possession, which began a 6-0 run and pushed the lead back up to 15 points, which is the margin FDU led at the half in a 40-25 contest. 
• Wilson sparked FDU's offense in the second quarter as she scored nine points in the period, including a pair of and-one layups in a half in which FDU shot 56.7 percent from the floor. 
• Sacred Heart opened the second half by scoring four unanswered points, but FDU responded with a 9-0 run sparked by five points from Roters, including a step back three and two points from both Scott and Stanley as FDU led 49-29 with 4:24 to go in the third quarter. 
• Wilson picked up where she left off in the first half as she scored five points over the final 3:10 of the third, including another and-one and found Crystian for a three-pointer as FDU led 59-42 after three quarters of action. 
• Sacred Heart got as close as 12 points with 5:08 to go in the fourth quarter, but Mack connected on her second three of the fourth quarter to push the lead back up to 15 with 4:24 remaining as FDU went on to win 74-56.

Inside the Box Score

• FDU shot 52.7 percent from the floor and connected on 29 shots in the contest.
• The Burgundy and Blue outrebounded Sacred Heart by a 34-30 margin.
• The Knights dished out 18 assists and scored 36 points in the paint.
• FDU forced 17 Sacred Heart turnovers and recorded eight steals.
• Adrianne Hagood led Sacred Heart with 16 points on 6-10 shooting.
• All nine FDU players that entered the game scored at least one point and six registered at least nine points.

What's Next
FDU will play its final home game of the season and the second of a two-game series tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. against Sacred Heart from inside the Rothman Center. Senior Bri Wooten and graduate student Elise Graham will be honored before the game.