Box Score
HACKENSACK, N.J. – Four players scored in double-digits Monday afternoon, as the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team beat Fairleigh Dickinson in a midday MLK Jr. Day match-up in Stratis Arena, 70-62. Senior Tamika Guz led scoring with 18 points, while junior Cleandra Roberts had a double-double coming off the bench, with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The win snapped an eight-game losing streak for LIU, as the Blackbirds earned their first Northeast Conference win of the season, improving to 4-13 overall and 1-5 in NEC play.
“It was a great team win,” head coach Gail Striegler said. “We did a great job of getting the ball inside and taking advantage of our post game. We got key defensive stops and hit crucial free throws at the end. Everyone that played made a contribution, which is what we must have every night for this team to be successful.”
The game did not start out well for the Blackbirds. Fairleigh Dickinson went up early, when Miah Register hit a three-point shot to give the Knights a 10-4 lead. Register went 3-for-4 from behind the arc in the first eight minutes, to give FDU a significant head start, including a 20-10 advantage with 12:19 left to play. A free throw by Erica Livermore gave the Knights their widest lead of the day, 21-10 at 11:13.
But LIU began to chip away at the lead. Senior Krystal Wells scored the Blackbirds' first basket in almost two minutes with a three pointer at 10:43. From there, Letava Whippy made back-to-back layups in just under a minute, to close the gap to 25-17.
Whippy's offensive flurry sparked the Blackbirds, and LIU went on an 11-2 run that spanned four minutes, that saw the lead cut to just one point, 27-26, with five minutes remaining in the first half.
LIU would take its first lead of the day 30 seconds later, when Whippy once again out-ran the opponents, and made the layup, making it 30-29 with 4:30 on the clock.
FDU would battle back and retake the lead, but with just over a minute remaining in the half, freshman Sophie Bhasin hit a crucial jumper from the right side, and LIU had the lead once again, 35-34, heading into the break.
The momentum of the second half was similar to the first. Fairleigh Dickinson came out on fire, outscoring the Blackbirds 11-2 in the first five minutes of play. With the Knights up eight, 45-37, LIU began to fire back, and this time, the shots fell.
Senior Krystal Wells grabbed a crucial offensive rebound for LIU, and Fanny Cavallo was able to convert the layup. From there, the Blackbirds went on a 15-1 run to take over the game. One of the most important plays of the run was when junior Courtney Sullivan found sophomore Honor Duvall under the basket, and Duvall made the layup to tie the game at 48-48 with 11:51 to play.
The next time down the court, junior Cleandra Roberts had the quick layup and drew a foul. Making the free throw, Roberts gave LIU the solid lead, 51-48 at 10:56.
The final ten minutes of play saw the Blackbirds hold onto the lead, and continue to widen it at points. Guz had a layup with 1:17 to give LIU breathing room, 65-57, and senior Krystal Wells went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 40 seconds to ensure LIU's first NEC win of the year, 70-62.
Tamkia Guz led all players with 18 points in the win, her third straight game scoring over 15 points. Senior Krystal Wells scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while junior Cleandra Roberts had her third double-double of the year coming off the bench, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Letava Whippy had a career-high 11 points and tied her career-high of seven rebounds, and junior Honor Duvall chipped in eight points.
Up next for the Blackbirds is another game on the road, as LIU will travel to Smithfield, R.I. to take on Bryant, January 26th at 1 p.m. LIU will then host St. Francis Brooklyn at the Wellness Center for T-Shirt night, Monday, January 28th at 7 p.m.
NOTES: LIU had only 16 turnovers in the win, tying for the lowest team total this season… the Blackbirds also had 16 assists, one of the higher team totals of the year… Wells led the way with four assists, while eight different LIU players got assists in the win… the Blackbirds out-rebounded the Knights, 45-34… Erika Livermore led FDU with her 14th double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds… LIU scored 34 points in the paint, and 15 points off FDU turnovers… LIU made 18 free throws, the most the team has made in a game this season.