MADISON, N.J. – The No. 3 FDU-Florham women's basketball team forced 26 turnovers en route to an 82-53 victory over DeSales University on Saturday afternoon at the Ferguson Recreation Center.

Junior forward Shalette Brown (Somerset, N.J.) led the defensive effort with a career-high eight steals in the victory. Brown continued her outstanding second season with the Devils (22-1, 11-1 Freedom) by tossing in a game-high 17 points, while corralling 14 rebounds, blocking three shots and handing out three assists.

The Bulldogs (13-10, 7-5 Freedom) started fast by scoring the game's first six points and staking an 11-3 lead five minutes into action. FDU-Florham struggled to 1-for-7 shooting over that stretch but quickly responded with eight straight points to even the score.

With the Devils trailing 15-13, freshman guard Danielle Leguillou (Staten Island, N.Y.) nailed a trey, which set off a 16-0 run by the nation's third-ranked team. Senior forward Delisha Thompson (East Orange, N.J.) dropped in two layups, Alyssa McDonough (Parlin, N.J.) made one and then found Alicia Cox (Vineland, N.J.) for a three-pointer.

After FDU-Florham had built a 14-point advantage, the Bulldogs fought back to within three thanks to a pair of three-balls by Kaitlin Kelly and two layups by Morgan McCollian. Brown closed the half with a jumper, which gave the Devils a five-point edge, 33-28 at the break.

The Devils shot just 35.1 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the line in the opening stanza but were aided by 14 Bulldogs' miscues. McDonough led FDU-Florham with seven points, while Thompson added six at intermission.

McDonough and Brown led a spirited charge out of the locker room, as the duo combined to score 12-straight points to begin the second stanza.  Jen Napolitano finally netted the Bulldogs' first points of the period with a three-ball, which made it a 45-31 game.

Soon after, the Devils broke the game wide open with a 14-2 run, which stretched the cushion to 75-44 and they rolled from there. Thirteen second-half points from Brown spurred the home team on as they coasted to the finish line.

The Devils knocked down 50 percent of their shots in the second half and did a better job at the charity stripe by converting 14-of-18.

McDonough finished with 16 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Cox chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in the winning effort. After missing her first seven shots of the game, Kyra Dayon (Trenton, N.J.) found the touch in the second half and reached double-figures (11 points) for the seventh straight outing.

McCollian topped the ledger for DeSales with 14 points and seven rebounds and Napolitano came off of the bench to score 12 points in the loss.

With only two regular games remaining, FDU-Florham heads on the road in its next contest to take on Wilkes University this Wednesday, February 17 at 6 p.m.