Madison, NJ (January 25, 2020)- Women's Basketball fell to Wilkes University in a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom match-up on Saturday afternoon, 66-65. With the loss, the Devils drop to 3-14 overall and 1-5 in conference play while the Colonels improve to 7-10 overall and 1-5 in the MAC Freedom.

FIRST HALF
FDU got the scoring started early, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead thanks to a bucket from Freshman Jayda Bing and a foul shot from Senior Cayla Staggers. The Colonels would respond, going on a 16-3 run the remainder of the first quarter, taking a 16-6 lead at the end of 10-minutes.

Wilkes would begin quarter number two right where they left off, scoring the quarters first four points to extend their lead to 20-6. The Devils had the answer, turning to Junior Aleah Bass off the bench. Bass would enter the game and score six of FDU's next nine points, including a three from freshman Angela Downey, to cut the lead to 22-11. Back and forth play would spell the final five minutes of play with Wilkes leading 34-24 at the halftime break. After coming off the bench in quarter two, Bass finished the quarter leading FDU with nine points, four blocks and seven rebounds.

SECOND HALF
Half number two started with seven straight FDU points, cutting the lead to 34-31 thanks to a three from Downey and four straight points from Staggers. After a Wilkes bucket, Staggers would hit another and Senior Arian coleman would drill a two to cut the lead to 36-35. FDU took its first lead since the opening minutes, 37-36 at 4:28 in the third quarter on another Staggers two. Teams would trade buckets down the stretch with Wilkes holding a 43-41 advantage headed into the final frame.

After Sophomore Helen Ishmael tied the game early in the fourth, the Colonels would go on a 9-0 run to regain a 52-43 advantage. FDU had the response, going on an 11-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 54-52 with 5:05 left in the game. After a Wilkes two with 3:22 remaining, FDU would find themselves down by five, continuing to fight. Senior Jennah Roman cut the lead to one, 59-58 one-minute later, before Wilkes scored four straight to build the lead back to five. With the final minutes closing, freshman Jayda Bing hit a three-pointer from half court to cut the Wilkes lead to one, 66-65 as the final buzzer sounded.

LEAD DEVIL
Downey was on fire from beyond the arc, knocking down six three-pointers on the day and finishing as FDU's leading scorer with 18 points.

NOT IN MY HOUSE
Bass finished the day with six blocks while the entire Devils team recorded 15 on the day.

SECOND HALF NUMBERS
After being down at the halftime break by 10, FDU controlled the second half of play, outscoring Wilkes 41-31.

FROM COACH
"We put ourselves in a hole by shooting 10% in the first quarter and finishing with 6 points. We can't keep waiting until the end of the game to want to play. We had mental mistakes that we can't afford have and missing crucial FTs can't happen. There are so many things we need to continue to work on that will put us in a solid position in the future here."
 
NEXT UP
The Devils travel to Stevens Institute of Technology on January 29 for an 8 p.m. MAC Freedom tip-off.