Monmouth Hawks (2-7) – 61
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (6-2) – 78
 
HACKENSACK, NJ – Trailing by 18 points at halftime, the Monmouth University women's basketball team was unable to mount a comeback in the second half, falling to former NEC foe Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night, 78-61. The Knights shot 48.4% from the floor, 54.5% from three-point land, and sunk 12 of 15 free throws, in addition to holding the Hawks to just 3-26 from beyond the arc. Senior Rhaiah Spooner-Knight matched a season-high of 18 points, making her first eight field goals. Junior Erica Balman matched a career-high for the third time this season, scoring 10 points while blocking three shots. Sophomore Alexa Middleton grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds in the loss, including five on the offensive glass. The Hawks dropped to 2-7 on the season, and will return to West Long Branch for home matchups with Virginia Tech and George Washington before beginning MAAC play at Marist on December 30.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
"The bottom line is that we continue to turn the ball over way too much. It's something that we have to be able to fix. On top of that, we just know that as a team we need to get better. We've got about a week before we play Virginia Tech, and we're going to be working to improve both offensively and defensively." - Monmouth head coach Jenny Palmateer
-Fairleigh Dickinson ran out to a 10-2 lead early in the first quarter, but the Hawks used a 6-0 run to make it 10-8.
-The Knights led Monmouth 25-20 with less than 10 seconds left in the first quarter, and hit a triple at the buzzer to make it 28-20.
-After FDU took a 14-point lead early in the second quarter, the Hawks rattled off a 7-0 run to get within seven, but the Knights answered with a 9-0 run of their own to go up by 16.
-Eventually increasing to a 13-2 run, the Knights took a 49-31 lead into the locker room.
-The teams each scored 16 points in the third quarter, as FDU took a 65-47 lead into the last frame.
-The Hawks outscored the Knights 14-13 in the fourth quarter, eventually falling 78-61.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Spooner-Knight scored 13 points in the first half and was 6-6 from the floor. She would eventually get up to 8-8 from the floor before missing her first shot in the third quarter.
-MU outrebounded the Knights by a margin of 43-32.
-Monmouth turned the ball over 25 times, compared to FDU's 19.
-Shaw scored in double-figures for the eighth time this season, and 27^th time in her 40-game career.
-Sophomore guard Rosa Graham earned her fourth career start, and second of the season.
-FDU's 28 first quarter points were tied for the most given up by Monmouth in a quarter this season.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will return to the OceanFirst Bank Center to host Virginia Tech on December 12 and George Washington on December 22.  Monmouth will face VT for the first time ever, and hold a 2-1 all-time series advantage over George Washington, though the teams haven't played since 1985.