Madison, NJ (February 1, 2020)- FDU Women's Basketball dropped an overtime Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom match-up to Misericordia University on Saturday afternoon, 66-62. With the loss, the Devils fall to 3-16 overall during the 2019-2020 campaign and 1-7 in conference play, while the Cougars improve to 17-2 overall and 7-1 in MAC Freedom play.

FIRSTHALF
The first quarter of play started with Misericordia going on an 11-0 through the first five minutes. FDU would stop the bleeding on a layup from junior Francesca Shipe off a nice dish from Senior Arian Coleman. The Devils would continue to chip away with a triple from freshman Jayda Bing one-minute later. Play would continue back and forth for the remainder of the quarter, with the Cougars taking an 18-9 advantage into the start of the second.

FDU would hold Misericordia to only one point through the first three-minutes of play, getting on the board themselves with a junior Aleah Bass bucket on an assist from freshman Angela Downey. After the Cougars built their lead to as many as 16, 27-11 with 3:39 remaining in the half, FDU would go on a run. The Devils would close out the half scoring 10 straight points, with six coming from Bing, two from Shipe and two from senior Cayla Staggers. The halftime score finished, 27-21.

SECOND HALF
It only took the Devils 3:00 minutes into the second half tie the game, 31-31 on a Staggers jumper. FDU would take its first lead of the game :30 seconds later on a senior Jennah Roman three-pointer. Misericordia had the response, knocking down a three of their own to tie it back up less than a minute later. FDU would build its biggest lead of the quarter, 39-34 at 4:30 on another Staggers two-pointer. The Devils kept it a five-point lead after Bing knocked down another bucket with 3:56 remaining. However, the Cougars would finish the quarter on a 5-0 run, heading into the final frame knotted at 41.

The fourth quarter of action saw four lead changes and three ties as both teams traded buckets down the stretch. Downey hit a three-pointer with 2:06 on the clock to tie the game at 52-52. After more back and forth action, the Cougars took a late 58-55 lead under one-minute remaining. With :17 seconds remaining, Jayda Bing stepped to the line for a three free throws, knocking them all down to send the game to overtime.

OVERTIME
The Cougars scored the first six points of overtime, holding FDU scoreless until the 2:33 mark, when Staggers knocked down a jumper. FDU continued to battle, cutting the lead to two with :35 seconds remaining. The Cougars held the final :30 seconds, securing the overtime victory.

LEAD DEVIL
For the third time this season, Staggers tied her career high in points, finishing the game with 18 points on 9-of-17 from the field and playing 41 minutes.

SIDEKICKING IT
Freshmen continued to produce for the Devils, with the team's leading scorer Jayda Bing finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds.

ON THE BOARDS
Bass continues to grab boards for FDU, finishing the day with eight total rebounds and  six coming on the defensive side of the floor. She also recorded two blocks on the day, her third straight game with two or more in that category.

FROM THE COACH
"When we have all cylinders firing at the same time, we can be pretty good. That showed tonight. We fought every minute and were ready physically and mentally today. Our zone defense can be tricky to play against and our girls went out there to be disruptive in our zone. Saw a lot of great things today and can only be proud." – Head Coach Melissa Brooks

NEXT UP
The Devils return to action on Wednesday, February 5 when they host DeSales University in the Ferguson Recreation Center. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 8 p.m. or 30-minutes following the conclusion of the men's game at 6 p.m.