HACKENSACK, N.J. – In a battle of two of the top three defenses in the NEC, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team (8-6, 4-5 NEC) fell 52-46 to LIU (3-6, 3-6 NEC) on Thursday night at the Rothman Center. 

Senior Madison Stanley posted a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the game. Stanley made eight shots in over 36 minutes of action. Sophomore Sierra DeAngelo also scored in double-figures with 12 points. Junior Madeline Selvaggi scored a career-high nine points and grabbed eight rebounds. 

Coach Szumilo's Thoughts
"Obviously we played this game without Maria and I definitely see that we missed her today, we needed some other people to step up and that didn't necessarily happen, so that's something we definitely need to going into tomorrow's game," stated coach Szumilo. "I thought LIU had a good game plan, they played a really good defensive game and we did some good things defensively as well, holding them to only 52 points."

"I think we have to get to the line more and I think when our shot isn't falling in, that's when we need to get to the line more. We have to be more aggressive to the basket and I thought that was something that we didn't do today."

"The good thing about this loss is that we don't have to sit on it for too long. Under normal circumstances, we'd probably have to wait about two to three weeks to play them again. When you play these back-to-back games, it's definitely a game of adjustments and we're going to have to figure some things out and I think the team is ready and are hungry for the game tomorrow."

Coach Szumilo Full Press Conference

How it Happened

• FDU took an early 9-6 lead on LIU, which was sparked by four points from Stanley and a three-pointer from Selvaggi and the Knights held the lead after one quarter with a 14-12 advantage in a frame that had points from four different players.
• LIU opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run over the first 6:15 of the second quarter as both defenses set the tone before junior Lindsey Mack halted the LIU run with a three-pointer to beat the shot clock and a layup from DeAngelo brought the Knights as close as two points from the lead, but the Sharks entered the break with a 26-21 advantage. 
• With FDU down 31-23 in the early stages of the third, Selvaggi beat the shot clock with a nice left-handed scoop layup and an and-one layup to get FDU back within four with 7:19 to go, but both teams only scored four points each, with the FDU's baskets coming from freshman Chloe Wilson and Stanley as they trailed 35-31 after three stanzas. 
• Stanley began the fourth quarter by converting on a layup to get within two points, but LIU scored six of the next eight points to push the lead back up to six points with 5:32 remaining.
• Stanley again cut into the LIU lead with a layup, but a pair of LIU free throws and traded baskets from DeAngelo and Brandy Thomas jumper put the Sharks up by six with 3:07 to go before another Stanley bucket brought FDU back within four points with 1:30 remaining.
• The teams traded baskets and free throws over the final 1:30 as LIU came out with a 52-46 victory. 

Inside the Box Score

• FDU held LIU to shoot 33.9 percent from the floor.
• LIU outrebounded FDU by a 37-36 margin.
• FDU forced 11 turnovers and registered five steals. 
• FDU dished out 13 assists on their 19 made shots.
• Freshman Devyn Scott recorded a career-high in assists with 7. 
• Thomas led LIU with 18 points on 8-17 shooting.

What's Next
FDU will conclude its two-game series against LIU tomorrow night at 7 p.m.