PURCHASE, N.Y. –The No. 1 FDU-Florham women's basketball team sprinted to a 20-point halftime lead and held off a second-half burst from the Manhattanville College Valiants for a 104-91 victory in Freedom Conference action at Kennedy Gym on Thursday night.

Five players scored in double-figures for the Devils (18-0, 7-0 Freedom), led by Shalette Brown's (Somerset, N.J.) 18 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Brown was not the only Devil to fill up the stat sheet in the win. Kyra Dayon (Trenton, N.J.) and Alyssa McDonough (Parlin, N.J.) also were busy on Thursday. Dayon scored 18 points, with nine boards, and six assisnts, while McDonough went off for 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals on the night.

The nation's leading rebounder, Alyson Caiazzo played a brilliant game for the Valiants and recorded the rare triple-double with 16 points, 16 rebounds, and 12 assists in the hard-fought loss.

The contest began with a flurry as McDonough kicked off the night for FDU-Florham with a pair of treys, but the Valiants responded and grabbed a 7-6 edge on a layup by Alyson Caiazzo less than two minutes into action. The Devils immediately regained the lead with a jumper by Kyra Dayon and they never trailed again.

Delisha Thompson's (East Orange, N.J.) layup at the 11:12 mark gave the top-ranked team their first double-digit lead of the contest at 28-17. The Devils' defense pressured the Valiants into 18 first half turnovers, which countered the home team's efficient shooting. The Valiants knocked down 61.5 percent of their shots in the opening half but found themselves down by 20 due to their inability to fend off the Devils relentless attack.

McDonough put a bow on a dominant Devils' first half by absorbing contact, while draining a trey from the corner and completing a four-point play, all as the shot clock expired. Once the first-half buzzer sounded, FDU-Florham had put 59 points on the scoreboard, their second largest output of the season.

Four Devils tallied double-figures in the period led by McDonough and Brown, who netted 13 points apiece. Brown added four steals, three rebounds and two assists, while Kyra Dayon contributed 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in the one-sided half.

The Valiants regrouped at the half and did a much better job of handling the Devils' full court pressure in the second stanza. Manhattanville chipped away and sliced their large deficit down to single-digits, 83-74, with 6:27 to go. Alicia Cox immediately answered with a 3-pointer from the wing to rebuild the lead back to 12.

On the Devils' next possession, McDonough alluded Caiazzo with a nifty layup to put the FDU-Florham back up by 11 points at 96-85. After a pair of free throws by Caiazzo, McDonough dropped off a pass for Brown, who promptly laid the ball in. The Devils proceeded to close out the game at the free throw line and secure their 51^st consecutive victory.  

"This was a very exciting game to watch, I was pleased with our offensive production but we need to do a better job of defending for the full 40 minutes", FDU-Florham Head Coach Marc Mitchell said following his team's win.

The Devils return home for their next contest this Saturday, January 31 against Misericordia University. Start time is set for 1 p.m. at Ferguson Recreation Center.