MADISON, N.J. –Shalette Brown and Alyssa McDonough combined for 48 points to help the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham women's basketball team capture a 72-62 overtime MAC Freedom victory against the Manhattanville College Valiants on Wednesday night at the Ferguson Recreation Center.
Brown, the reigning conference player of the week, tallied her third straight double-double, scoring 23 points while reeling in 16 boards and recording two steals. McDonough also had a productive outing, leading all scorers in the contest with a season-high 25 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The two standout scorers for the Devils (13-5, 5-2 MAC Freedom) wasted no time getting things started as they notched 17 of the team's first 20 points.
Two minutes into the second stanza, the Valiants (12-5, 4-3 MAC Freedom) grabbed their first lead of the night after Candice Scott-Mason scored on a fast break. Manhattaville was able to maintain its lead until the Devils ventured on an 8-2 run in the closing minutes of the half.
The Devils offense hit a rough patch in the third quarter, but it was their defense that helped them limit the damage done by Manhattanville. Junior forward Rachel Groom stood tall in the paint and sent away four of the Valiants' shot attempts. Groom finished the game with a season-high five blocks to go with her 10 points and 14 rebounds.
In the backcourt, Danielle Leguillou and Raven Dowling wreaked havoc on the Valiants' guards all game as the two combined for a flashy nine steals.
FDU-Florham eventually founds its groove and Brown and McDonough continued to light up the stat sheet. However, the elusive Bri Pabon willed the Valiants with 19 points and seven assists to keep the score close.
The two teams battled tirelessly in the fourth quarter and following back-to-back layups by Brown, the Devils grabbed a six-point lead with just over a minute left in regulation.
The Valiants had an answer though and responded with consecutive layups of their own from Ashley Raff and Jazmin Pryce.
The Devils found themselves up by two points with seconds left on the clock. After the Valiants missed a shot, they got a clutch offensive rebound and the ball found its way to Kayleah McGuire. McGuire went up with the shot and with one second remaining she missed, but was fouled on the play and knocked down both of her foul shots to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Valiants knotted the game up at 62-62, but McDonough received a pass from Brown and buried a timely 3-point shot to put FDU-Florham back in the lead. From that point on the Devils dominated all facets of the game and outscored the Valiants 7-0 to grab the conference victory.
The Devils will return to action on Saturday, January 30 for a road MAC Freedom contest against the Misericordia University Cougars at 1 p.m.
