FDU Knights Athletics

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team will be playing in the Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals for the first time since 1992, traveling to Mount St. Mary's for a 7 p.m., tip-off at Knott Arena. Updates to this page will be provided when more information becomes available.

#3 FDU (13-17, 9-9 NEC) at #2 Mount St. Mary's (20-11, 14-4 NEC)
Thursday, March 12 | 7 PM | Knott Arena - Emmitsburg, Md.
Watch: NEC Front Row | ESPN3 (Link posted when available)
Links: Live Stats | Twitter | Instagram
Tournament Homepage: Click Here
Full NEC Tournament Bracket

All-Time Series
Mount St. Mary's 35, FDU 25
at Knott Arena: Mount leads, 21-10
In NEC Tournament: FDU 2, Mount 1 (W, 70-65 1990 NEC Final; W, 78-55 1992 NEC Final; L, 69-52 2000 NEC First Round)
This Season: Mount St. Mary's 69, FDU 61; FDU 66, Mount St. Mary's 63

History in Hackensack
FDU won its first NEC Tournament game for the first time since 1992 on Monday night, defeating Bryant 57-43 in the first NEC Tournament game hosted in the Rothman Center since 1997. The win snapped a 21-game losing streak in the NEC Tournament, and it marked the first home postseason victory for the Knights since they defeated Wagner in the NEC First Round in 1990. FDU earned its 10th win against an NEC opponent, the most in a single season (regular and postseason combined) since 2003-04. 

The Knights' 9-9 mark in the conference during the regular season is their best NEC record since the 2008-09 season. FDU's 13 wins overall under first-year head coach Angelika Szumilo marks a five-win improvement from last season. FDU also set a single-season record with 197 made three-pointers in 2019-20, breaking the previous record of 169 made threes accomplished in 2016-17 season.

FDU NEC QUARTERFINAL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Last Time Out
The Knights (13-17) led for a majority of the game Monday against Bryant, including the entire second half, before going on a critical 13-0 run over a stretch of seven minutes in the fourth quarter to win for the second time at home in NEC Tournament history. FDU also snapped a 21-game losing streak in the NEC Tournament with the victory.

Freshman Maria Roters led FDU with 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds, shooting 6-of-12 from the floor. Senior Lauren Francillon reached double figures for her eighth straight game, adding 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Rachael Niles contributed nine points, and freshman Sierra DeAngelo scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds, making 5-of-6 free throws.
 
Sophomore Madeline Selvaggi played 35 big minutes and tied her career-high with six points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Francillon netted FDU's first four points of the game, and Niles provided FDU their first lead at 9-7 on a three-pointer. The Bulldogs (10-20) regained the lead and held a two-point advantage after one quarter, but the Knights quickly made up the ground on a three-pointer by Celia Carbonell and a Niles layup made it 17-14.
 
Bryant then went on an 8-0 run to go up by five before Selvaggi ended the run with a layup that drew contact and a foul. She missed the ensuing free throw, but junior Madison Stanley grabbed the rebound to keep possession for FDU, leading to a Roters three that tied the game at 22.
 
Back-and-forth play continued until Francillon made a jumper with 1:39 to go in the half, and a Roters layup ended the half with FDU up 29-26. Roters then scored the first basket of the next half as well, and FDU held its five-point advantage into the fourth quarter, later going up by eight on a Niles three with eight minutes to go.
 
The Bulldogs answered with the next five points to cut the lead down to three, but a big three-pointer from Francillon started FDU's run in which they held Bryant to 0-for-8 over the next seven minutes. DeAngelo made all five of her free throws during the Knights run, and she and Selvaggi also added layups to build onto FDU's lead they would not surrender.
 
Coach Szumilo's Thoughts

"Obviously, it was an amazing win," head coach Angelika Szumilo said after the game. "It was a great team effort and I think today was really what we have talked about since day one with our defensive intensity. Our focus on defense today was there, as we held them to 43 points."

What's Next
If the Knights win their NEC Semifinal matchup, they will play in the Northeast Conference Championship for the first time since 1992, going up against the winner of the Robert Morris-Sacred Heart semifinal matchup on Sunday, March 15, at 2 p.m. If Robert Morris wins, the Knights will be traveling out to Pittsburgh for the game, but if Sacred Heart wins, the championship game would be hosted in the Rothman Center.

Marriott Saddle Brook is the presenting sponsor of the 2019-20 women's basketball season.  

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