MADISON, N.J. (November 17, 2018) - The FDU-Florham women's basketball team won their home opener against New Jersey City 75-67, Saturday afternoon in the FDU Tip Off Classic.

The Devils offense started off slow missing their first five shots of the evening. Senior Kayla Croswell's layup with 4:23 left in the first quarter was the first made field goal for the Devils. The Gothic Knights started the game on a 6-0 run before a made free throw by Croswell but the Devils on the board. NJCU responded with a 5-0 run of their own to push the score to 11-1 before a made free throw by junior Breion Knox made it a nine-point game again. The Devils fell behind as much as 11-points in the first quarter before an 8-3 Devils run made the score 18-12 at the end of the first. The Devils shot 4-for-15 in the first half including 0-for-3 from deep.

The Gothic Knights started the second quarter on a 6-1 run to push the score to 24-13 before the Devils turned the game around. FDU-Florham responded with a massive 16-2 run that gave them the lead with 3:31 left in the quarter. The run was fueled by Croswell's eight points and senior Raven Dowling's three assists. After back-to-back layups by Knox to get the Devils within one at 25-26, Dowling's tenacious defense forced a turnover and a quick NJCU foul sent Dowling to the line for two free throws. After making both, the Devils held their first lead of the afternoon.

After trading baskets to start the second half, the Gothic Knights went on a 16-2 run, in which they shot 6-for-9 including a perfect 2-for-2 from deep. The run lasted four minutes and was ended by the Devils first three of the afternoon by Dowling. The three started an 8-0 run for the Devils that lasted 1:12 which made the score 50-49 in favor of New Jersey City. Despite the 52.7% shooting by the Gothic Knights, the Devils only trailed by one at the end of the third at 54-53.

The Devils started the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run which included a layup by Croswell and a three by junior Jennah Roman. However, the Devils offense went cold over the next three minutes which allowed the Gothic knights to reclaim the lead at 61-58. With 4:59 remaining in regulation, Roman hit another three pointer to tie the game at 61. A response layup by the Gothic Knights gave them the lead with 4:20 remaining but the Devils went on a 12-0 run to put the game out of reach. During the run they held New Jersey City to 0-for-6 shooting and six turnovers. Junior Cayla Staggers provided the offense for the Devils during the run scoring six points on two layups and a jumper.

Croswell reset her career high with 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting after totaling 20 against Rutgers-Newark earlier this week. The Devils had three other players reach double digit points as Staggers had 12 points, Roman added 11, and Dowling tallied 11 points, seven steals and seven assists. The Devils also recorded a season high 22 offensive rebounds.

The Devils will play Rutgers-Newark in a rematch of last Tuesday's matchup tomorrow Sunday November 18 at 1 p.m.