LORETTO, PA – FDU women's basketball (12-3, 2-0) picked up their second NEC win of the season on Thursday night. The Knights took down Saint Francis (3-13, 1-2) on the road by a score of 63-55.
The Knights were led by another dominant performance on the season by
Teneisia Brown. The graduate student recorded 22 points to lead the way for the Knights on an efficient 10-14 shooting.
FDU started the game out with an early cushion, leading the Red Flash 18-11 through the first quarter of action. Brown recorded five points in the first frame to lead FDU. The Red Flash began to pick up a bit in the second quarter however, and heading into halftime it was just a five-point FDU lead. The Knights were unable to find the deep ball early on, shooting just two-of-nine from range compared to Saint Francis' perfect three-of-three.
Brown had nine points at the half to lead the way for FDU, and was closely joined by
Rebecca Osei-Owusu, who racked up six in the first twenty minutes of action.
Come the second half, a rock fight began in Loretto. Both teams began trading blows over the final two frames, with the physicality increasing as the game went on. After a jumper in the paint to start off the fourth quarter, the Knights held a ten-point lead over Saint Francis with about eight minutes to play. However, after a couple of turnovers and missed shots by the Knights, the door was opened for the Red Flash to hit a couple shots and tighten the game up. With just three minutes left, FDU only held a four-point lead over their conference rivals.
After Saint Francis cut it to four, the Knights went into overdrive, turning up the defensive pressure and getting several key stops.
Teneisia Brown also converted a tought layup while being fouled at the two-minute mark to put the Knights up by two scores, and beginning the foul game from Saint Francis.
Abaigeal Babore,
Abby Conklin, and
Staci Williams all proceeded to convert opportunities from the line to pad the FDU lead and let the Knights walk out of Loretto with a victory.
THE STATS
- FDU was led in scoring by Teneisia Brown, who dropped 22.
- It was just the third instance this season where Brown went over the 20-point threshold.
- Brown now stands as FDU's leading scorer with an average of 13.9 PPG this season.
- Abby Babore poured in 12 points, her fourth time scoring in double figures in the last five games.
- Babore also went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, improving her FT% on the season to 97.9%, good for second amongst all DI players.
- Rebecca Osei-Owusu tied a career-high with nine points in the victory for FDU, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
- The Knights were able to overcome their worst shooting display from the perimeter this season, shooting just 3-of-17 (17.6%) from deep.
- FDU won both the rebounding battle and the turnover margin.
- The Knights are now 12-0 when scoring at least 60 points.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Knights will stay in the Keystone State, heading up to Erie, PA to face Mercyhurst on Saturday, January 11. It will be the first meeting in history between the two programs. Mercyhurst is the newest addition to Division I and the NEC. Tip-off will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, with coverage available on NEC Front Row.
Connect with FDU Women's Basketball on X and Instagram, @FDUKnightsWBB.
Segovia Steakhouse is the presenting sponsor of the 2024-25 FDU Women's Basketball season.
