MADISON, N.J. – The No. 21 Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham women's basketball team suffered its second-straight loss, dropping the Battle of Madison Avenue 61-55 at cross-street rival Drew University on Tuesday night.
The loss marks the first time since January 18 of 2012 that the Devils (5-3, 1-1 MAC Freedom) have dropped back-to-back games.
Shalette Brown paced the Devils with 19 points and 18 rebounds for her fourth-straight double-double in the loss.
Hannah Miller led the way for the Rangers with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting. As a team, the Rangers shot 41.7 percent to 36.4 percent for the Devils from the field.
For the second-straight time, the Devils were unable to keep their opponent off of the charity stripe as the Rangers (5-2) took advantage by knocking down 16-of-22 as opposed to just 2-for-4 for FDU-Florham.
In the first half, the Devils did an excellent job of preventing the Rangers from earning second chances and limited them to just two offensive rebounds over the first 20 minutes of action. Brown and Rachel Groom were responsible for holding off the Rangers with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. With the two teams etching nearly identical shooting clips, around 35 percent, the Devils' rebounding effort helped to capture the lead.
Danielle Leguillou paced the Devils at the break with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including a pair of treys. The second-year guard swiftly maneuvered her way into space for open looks throughout the half and the Devils led 27-19 at intermission. Leguillou finished with 13 points and knocked down three treys on the night.
The Rangers surged out of the locker room with a 12-0 run to snatch a 30-27 lead. Hannah Miller spurred the push with five points over the run, which spanned the first five minutes of the third period.
Brown finally ended the drought for the Devils with a nifty layup at the 4:56 mark and then Leguillou knocked down a 3-pointer, which made it a 33-32 game. Trailing 37-34 late in the period, Brown captured a Rangers' turnover and setup Mariah Martinez for an old fashioned three-point play, which tied the game. Groom closed the quarter with a forceful layup in the waning seconds to put the Devils in front 39-38.
The Rangers fought back and Sam Lane connected from the behind the arc, which put the home team back in front 44-42. Then Miller followed with a trey and Lane dropped in a layup for a 51-42 Rangers' advantage. Lane's bucket capped a 13-4 run for the home team.
The Devils closed the gap to three following a steal and layup by Raven Dowling but were unable to get any closer as the Rangers converted at the free throw line to seal the victory.
Next up for the Devils is a trip to Atlanta, Ga. for the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Classic hosted by Oglethorpe University on December 18. The Devils open the two-day tournament against Belhaven University at 5 p.m.
