Madison, NJ (December 1, 2019)- The FDU Women's Basketball program defeated William Paterson University on Sunday, 66-65. With the win, the Devils improve to 2-5 while the Pioneers drop to 1-5.

FIRST QUARTER
The Devils jumped out early in the contest thanks to buckets from Sophomore Helen Ishmael and Freshman Nevaeh Sutton. William Paterson would quickly respond, scoring the games next five points. Nine lead changes would occur over the next seven minutes, with FDU leading 18-17 with 1:53 remaining in the quarter. The teams would trade buckets, with FDU freshman Francesca Shipe connecting with :26 seconds remaining. The quarter would end Devils ahead 23-19.

SECOND QUARTER
FDU would command the first five minutes of play in quarter number two. The Devils extended their lead to as much as 11 with 4:44 remaining, 36-25 on a made bucket from Freshman Angela Downey. William Paterson would score 8 of the games next 11 points to bring the game within six. FDU went into the halftime break leading 39-33.

THIRD QUARTER
Both teams traded buckets to start the second half of play, FDU holding a 41-35 lead with 8:40 remaining in the third. The Pioneers hit a two and Freshman Jayda Bing knocked down two free throws as the teams battled back and forth. William Paterson would then go on a 7-0 run to regain the lead, 44-43 with 1:58 remaining. After exchanging buckets again, the Pioneers held a 48-45 advantage heading into the fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER
Consistent with the flow of the first 30 minutes, the game would remain back and forth with 4 ties in the fourth quarter. FDU finally took the games last lead 62-60 with 1:33 remaining thanks to a Downey bucket. Shipe would knock down two free throws, extending the lead to 64-60. William Paterson hit a three, Senior Cayla Staggers and Bing knocked down a free throw apiece for the Devils to make it 66-63. The Pioneers hit a two as the buzzer sounded, but it wasn't enough as FDU escaped by one-point, 66-65.

LEAD DEVIL
Sutton led the way for FDU scoring 18 points while knocking down 3 three's and contributing 5 steals.

KEY CONTRIBUTORS
Downey finished the game scoring 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, while Bing added 11 and Shipe ended with eight and seven steals.

FROM COACH
"I'm really proud of the effort and energy from these ladies. It's been a tough week and this showed that we can grow and do great things in the face of adversity". - Head Coach Melissa Brooks

NEXT UP
FDU travels to Albany, NY to take on Division 1 University of Albany on Wednesday, December 4^th. Tip-off for that game is set for 7 p.m.