HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team (14-7, 10-6 NEC) extended its winning streak to five games with a 72-66 win over Sacred Heart (8-8, 8-6 NEC) on Monday afternoon from the Rothman Center. The winning streak matches their longest streak since 2018 when they won five in a row from January 15-February 3. 

Prior to the game, senior team manager Brianana Wooten and graduate student Elise Graham were honored for their contributions to the FDU women's basketball program. 

For the third straight game, four Knights scored in double-figures. Senior Madison Stanley led the way with 17 points on 7-13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore Celia Carbonell provided a spark off the bench as she netted 16 points on 6-8 shooting. Roters delivered her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Devyn Scott also scored 11 points and dished out four assists.

FDU is currently in fourth place in the NEC standings at 10-6 with two 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
"Sacred Heart is a very good team, I knew that they were going to come back and make adjustments and they did by making it very tough for our post players to score and it was a very close back and forth game," said Coach Szumilo following FDU's win over Sacred Heart. "Our focus has been really good and we now control our own destiny."

When asked about her message to the team coming out of the half, Szumilo stated, "Play defense, for us to score 32 points in a half is a lot of points to us, so it wasn't an issue of us scoring, but we adjusted on the defensive end and it worked. I am very proud of our team and we came into the third quarter a lot more focused than we were in the first half, which gave us breathing room."

When asked about the senior's impact, Szumilo said, "Bri's been with our women's basketball program the last four years and I still remember when I got the job and she came into my office and she introduced herself. Right from the start, she was a very big help because, she was able to help us out a lot and answer our questions. She doesn't need to be asked to get things done, she just does them and we are going to miss her."

"Elise is such a great kid and plays with so much passion and is a very mature kid. I very much enjoy our conversations. She's been hit with some injuries over the years and was having a good season last year before her ankle injury, but her contribution to the team are second to none. She's a great leader, very mature, and I'm going to miss her too."

Coach Szumilo Press Conference

How it Happened

• FDU jumped out to an early 7-4 lead over the first 5:07 of action led by four points from the Knights season-leading scorer senior Madison Stanley and a three-pointer from the left hand of junior Lindsey Mack, but the visitors closed the first quarter on a 11-7 run, in which time FDU freshmen Devyn Scott, Chloe Wilson, and Taylor Crystian combined for the seven points and Sacred Heart took a 15-14 into the second quarter.
• The teams traded buckets over the first 3:47 of the second quarter, before SHU went on a 7-2 run, but sophomore Celia Carbonell contributed to FDU's next 10 points with a three-pointer, a midrange jumper, and a pair of assists to bring FDU back within one point with 3:28 to go in the frame.
• After Sacred Heart pushed the lead back up to six with 2:01 to go in the second, Scott connected on a triple and Carbonell blew past the defense for two of her second quarter points as the Burgundy and Blue got back within three points of the lead as SHU led 35-32 heading into the half.
• Sophomore Maria Roters and Stanley combined to score the first four points of the third quarter to give FDU a 36-35 lead and the Knights continued a hot start to the third with a 9-1 run that also included a Mack three-pointer and a pair of free throws from Roters and Scott as FDU possessed a 43-38 advantage with 6:12 to go in the stanza.
• The next two possessions resulted in Sacred Heart three-pointers and a Wilson layup to get back within one, but FDU then went on a 7-0 run over the next 3:20 of the third, led by another Carbonell three-pointer and two points apiece from Crystian and Stanley to push the lead as high as eight with 1:41 left in the quarter before Sacred Heart scored the final four points of the frame in a close game that FDU led 52-48.
• Sacred Heart's Nikki Johnson cut the deficit to one early in the fourth with a made three-pointer, but FDU responded with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes led by four points from Stanley, another Carbonell three, and a driving layup from Scott as the Knights led 61-53 with 4:43 to go in the fourth.
• FDU's balanced offensive attack took over down the stretch as four Knights scored, with four points from Stanley, three from Carbonell, and two from both Roters and Scott as FDU prevailed 72-66.

Inside the Box Score

• FDU shot a season-best 56.3 percent from the floor and connected on 27 shots in the game.
• The Burgundy and Blue outrebounded Sacred Heart by a 35-23 margin.
• The Knights dished out 14 assists and scored 34 points in the paint.
• Johnson led Sacred Heart with 21 points on 8-12 from the floor.
• All eight FDU players that entered the game scored at least two points and five registered at least five points.
• Coach Szumilo is now 3-1 in her career against Sacred Heart.

What's Next
FDU will conclude the regular season with a two-game series on the road against Bryant on Thursday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. and Friday, March 5 at 4:00 p.m. The games can be viewed on NEC Front Row.