ST. DAVID'S, Pa. (February 7, 2018) – The FDU women's basketball team notched an impressive 85-69 win over Eastern Wednesday evening.
The Devils move to 16-6 on the season, including 9-2 in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom, as Eastern drops to 4-18, and 1-10 in the MAC Freedom.
Despite surrendering four of the games first six points, the Devils went on a 14-2 rally over the next five minutes. Junior
Bria Smith notched six points during the run, as the team was active on the defensive end, causing five turnovers. With time running down in the frame, sophomore
Gabrielle Harris knocked down a three with one second left, giving FDU the nine-point edge after one.
Sophomore
Taiah Thornton knocked down two three's in the second quarter as the Devils pushed their lead up to double-digits at 31-19. The hosts responded after a timeout, going on a 9-2 spurt of their own to get within two. Harris and classmate
Kendrea Williams responded with threes on consecutive possessions to stop the run.
The Devils defense was active, forcing 17 turnovers and scoring 20 points off the miscues. The Eagles did shoot 13-of-23 in the opening 20 minutes, including 5-of-7 from behind the arc.
Junior
Raven Dowling drained a pair of jumpers to open the third quarter, helping extend the Devils lead to 13. The jumpers were a part of the Devils 12-4 spurt to open the stanza. The team shot a blistering 6-of-9 to begin the half, limiting Eastern to 6-of-17 shooting during the third.
Dowling also kick-started the fourth quarter rally to put the game out of reach, drilling a jumper to start a 9-2 run. Sophomore
Jennah Roman converted a Dowling pass for a trey with 6:39 remaining in the fourth, putting FDU up 18. Smith and Harris converted free throws down the stretch, putting each of them over the 20 point plateau on the evening.
Smith ended the night with 22 points and 10 rebounds (six offensive), while Harris had 20 including a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Thornton ended with 16, while Dowling filled the stat-sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
FDU hosts Delaware Valley Saturday afternoon, with first tip scheduled for 1 p.m.
