Box Score
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – In a game that went down to the final seconds, the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team was dealt a dagger with seven seconds left on the clock, when Fairleigh Dickinson sophomore Erika Livermore made a layup to tie the game, and drained the free throw to give her team the 64-63 win. Junior Cleandra Roberts led LIU with 20 points and 14 rebounds, along with four steals.
With the loss, LIU is now 5-18 overall, 2-10 in Northeast Conference play.
The game was close throughout, though LIU lead early on. The Blackbirds opened the game on a strong note, as sophomore Letava Whippy had a quick layup off the tip at 19:57, to make it 2-0 Blackbirds. From there, LIU increased its lead, and had as much as a 10-point advantage over Fairleigh Dickinson.
Sophomore Kelly Robinson hit a jumper at 14:07 and was fouled on the shot. She hit her free throw to give LIU its widest lead of the game, 17-7.
FDU answered with an 11-1 run however, closing the Blackbirds' lead to just one point, 19-18 with 12:14 left in the first half.
LIU used a three-pointer by freshman Sophie Bhasin and a jumper by Robinson to open the game up, 29-22 with 7:45 left to play, and again, FDU would rally back to keep it close. Livermore made two layups in the final two minutes to tie the score up at 32 heading into halftime.
The second half was even closer than the first, as neither team would lead by more than five points, and the lead changed hands six times.
LIU's largest lead of the half came with a jumper from Cleandra Roberts at 8:08, which put the Blackbirds up, 54-49. Two minutes later, a layup by Livermore tied the game again at 54, and the battle raged on.
Heading into the final minutes of play, the Blackbirds were shooting well, hitting 46% of their shots from the field, and a three-point from Bhasin put LIU up, 61-57 with 3:37 on the clock.
FDU's Danielle Pankey went 3-for-4 from the free throw line over the next two minutes, to cut LIU's lead to just one point, 61-60 at 1:46. But LIU was able to keep cool, and junior Cleandra Roberts hit a layup at 1:18 to widen the Blackbirds lead to three points, 63-60.
A free throw by FDU cut it to two points with one minute left in the game, and with 14 seconds on the clock and possession under its own basket, FDU called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Pankey found Livermore on the elbow, and Livermore drove to the basket. She made the bucket to tie the game at 63, and was fouled on the way, sending her to the line with seven seconds left on the clock. Draining the free throw, Livermore put FDU up, 64-63. Though the Blackbirds had seven seconds to make a play, they could not, and the Knights took the win, 64-63.
FDU scored 23 points off LIU turnovers, and had 18 second chance points. LIU had 20 assists in the game, on 26 made shots. The Blackbirds shot 56% from the field in the second half.
Livermore led the Knights with 29 points, while Pankey added 20 points for FDU. Cleandra Roberts led LIU with a career-high 20 points, 14 rebounds and four steals. Freshman Sophie Bhasin added 13 points, senior Tamika Guz scored 10, and sophomore Kelly Robinson had nine assists and two steals for the Blackbirds.
Up next for LIU is a busy week of travel. The Blackbirds open the week with a matchup at Monmouth, Monday, February 18th at 7 p.m., before heading north to take on Central Connecticut State, Wednesday, February 20th at 7 p.m.