WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Fairleigh Dickinson's Mariyah Laury scored a
career-high 42 points as the Knights defeated the Monmouth University women's
basketball team, 72-64, Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Activity Center.
Betsy Gadziala (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) countered with a career-high 18
points for the Hawks, who fell to 13-11 (8-5 NEC). The Knights improved to
12-13 (7-6 NEC) with the win.
Abby Martin
(Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) narrowly missed a double-double for the Hawks with
nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Alysha Womack (Springfield,
Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) added 12 points, while Alexis Canady (Forestville,
Md./Bishop McNamara) had 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals.
Laury did her
damage on 16-of-28 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. She
made all of her 16 shots inside the three-point arc, and added four assists and
four steals. Danielle Pankey added 14 points, while Erika Livermore also
finished in double figures with 10 points. Desiree Crawford tied Martin for the
game high with 12 rebounds.
The Knights took
a 30-26 lead into the locker room at halftime on the strength of 20 points from
Laury on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Livermore added eight of the remaining 10 points for FDU, which outshot the
Hawks, 44.8 percent (13-29) to 33.3 percent (10-30) from the floor. The Hawks
were led by Canady and Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme), who had
five points each. Canady also added five assists and two steals.
The Knights
outscored the Hawks, 13-2, to open the second half, creating a 15-point advantage,
43-28. The Hawks scored 10 of the next 12 points to close to within seven
points, 45-38, on two Martin free throws at the 10:24 mark. The deficit
remained seven near the eight-minute mark, but FDU upped the advantage to as
many as 13 points on a Pankey jumper at the 5:11 mark. The Hawks draw to within
five on Thibault's three-pointer at the 2:15 mark. But Laury made 1-of-2 free
throws and followed with a steal and fast-break lay-up to effectively put the
game away. With the Knights up by 12, the Hawks went on an 8-1 run to close to
within six. But it was too little, too late, as the Knights came away with the
72-64 victory.
For the game, the
Knights outshot the Hawks, 43.3 percent (26-60) to 36.9 percent (24-65) from
the floor and 66.7 percent (20-30) to 55.0 percent (11-20) from the free-throw
line. The Knights also took a 44-41 edge on the boards. The Hawks outshot the
Knights, 26.3 percent (5-19) to 0.0 percent (0-3) from long range. The Monmouth
bench outscored the FDU bench, 30-11.
The Hawks and
Knights conclude NEC Rivalry Week Wednesday, when Monmouth travels to
Hackensack. Opening tip from Stratis Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
