HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team (9-6, 5-5 NEC) held LIU to a season-low 36 points as FDU pulled away with a 57-36 win over LIU (3-7, 3-7 NEC) on Friday night from the Rothman Center. The 36 points allowed is the lowest point total allowed since 2008, when they held St. Francis Brooklyn to only 29 points in a 65-29 win. 

Sophomore Celia Carbonell netted a career-high 16 points on 5-7 shooting and made a career-high four three-pointers in the win. Senior Madison Stanley ended the night with 13 points on 6-11 from the floor. Freshman Chloe Wilson also reached double-figures with 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. 

Coach Szumilo's Thoughts
"After yesterday's game we really challenged our team to step up on both ends and I thought a lot of players stepped up today and I'm extremely proud of our team defense," stated coach Szumilo following the victory. "We came together and rebounded well, which was something we needed to adjust in the second half because we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds in the first half, but I thought that was a difference maker."

When asked about Carbonell's performance, coach Szumilo said, "I'm happy for Celia because she's a really good three-point shooter and last year she shot about 38 percent from three, but this year she had been struggling and she just keeps shooting and getting after it, so I'm really happy for her to have this type of a game."

"Position defense, help off non-shooters, and we knew we were going to have to switch off a lot of those ball screens because we knew we would have disadvantages around the post, but we kept reminding our players to play off non-shooters with a purpose. I thought the difference between the first and the second half was we boxed out and we got the rebounds."

Coach Szumilo Press Conference

How it Happened

• FDU scored the first four points of the game off baskets from Stanley and junior Lindsey Mack, but LIU responded with 7 of the next 11 points to take an 11-8 lead with 3:25 to go in the first stanza and the teams traded baskets the remainder of the period as LIU held a 16-13 lead after a quarter that saw baskets from five different Knights.
• Carbonell tied the game early in the second with her first of two three-pointers in the second and the FDU defense held LIU to only two points over the first seven minutes of the frame and FDU got up by as many as three points at 21-18 with 3:07 left in the second quarter.
• LIU then went on an 8-3 run to go up by two before Wilson made a layup off a feed from junior Madeline Selvaggi with 0:01 to go in the half to tie things up at 26-26 after 20 minutes of play.
• FDU opened the third quarter with six unanswered points on buckets from sophomore Maria Roters, Stanley, and Wilson and held LIU scoreless for the first 4:53 of the period before Aislinn Flynn ended the scoring drought to get back within four points of the lead in a 32-28 game.
• Carbonell connected on a corner three to help conclude 10-4 run to end the frame that also saw five points from Wilson as FDU led 42-32 after three quarters of action.
• Stanley opened the fourth quarter with four points while FDU continued to play tenacious defense as they held LIU scoreless over the first 6:30 minutes of the frame while Wilson added three more points to her total to take a 49-32 lead with 4:32 to go.
• Roters then connected on a pair of difficult layups and sophomore Sierra DeAngelo hit a three-pointer as FDU went on to win its ninth game of the season, 57-36. 

Inside the Box Score

• FDU held LIU to only 10 points in the second half, with six points in the third and four in the fourth.
• The Knights limited LIU to shoot only 27.3 percent from the floor, the lowest field goal percentage since March 2, 2020 when they held Wagner to 29.7 percent from the field.
• FDU shot 45.1 percent from the floor and made 23 shots.
• LIU outrebounded FDU by a 33-32 margin.
• FDU forced 18 LIU turnovers and dished out 13 assists.
• Selvaggi grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and dished out six assists.
• Flynn led LIU with nine points. 

What's Next
FDU will travel to St. Francis Brooklyn for a two-game series against the Terriers beginning on Tuesday, February 9 at 4:00 p.m. from the Daniel Lynch '38 Gymnasium.