HACKENSACK, N.J. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team had 11 of 12 players score in Saturday afternoon's Northeast Conference match-up with Fairleigh Dickinson, as the Blackbirds beat the Knights in Stratis Arena, 75-70. With the win, LIU improves to 6-12 overall, 2-4 in the NEC.

Junior Sophie Bhasin led the scoring with 19 points, while sophomores Brianna Farris and Shanovia Dove added 13 points each. Junior Shanice Vaughan had a complete game for LIU, with eight points, a team-high eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.

FDU opened the game's scoring early and often, taking a 12-5 lead over the Blackbirds in the first four minutes of play. The Knights were on fire, shooting 75 percent from the field prior to the first media timeout, while LIU struggled to make shots, hitting just 20 percent from the field in the early minutes. But the Blackbirds would get hot from there, and finished the first half shooting 62.5 percent from the field.  

Bhasin was the spark for the Blackbirds coming out of that timeout, as she would score five points in 40 seconds to cut the Knights' lead to 12-10, forcing the home team to call a timeout. LIU would continue to chip away at FDU's lead. Freshman Stylz Sanders had a layup to keep the Blackbirds close at 14:23, and just 10 seconds later, junior Brianna Farris drained a three that would tie the game up at 15-15.  Sophomore Shanovia Dove would give LIU the lead for good two minutes later, when she converted a traditional three point play to put LIU up one, 18-17 at 12:48. A long jumper from freshman Paris Jones would widen the lead to 20-17 just 30 seconds later, and then junior Shanice Vaughan went to work. The point guard had a quick layup, and on the next play down the court, stole the ball and made the fast-break layup, widening LIU's lead to 24-17 with 11:31 to play.

Back-to-back three pointers by Bhasin, and a layup from junior Jahmia Phillips gave the Blackbirds their widest lead of the half so far, 34-21 at 8:38. LIU led for the rest of the half, and a last minute layup by Vaughan gave the Blackbirds a 51-38 lead headed into the break.  The 51 points was the most LIU has scored in a half this season.

The Blackbirds stayed up to start the second half, and the high-pressure defense started to wear on the Knights. LIU had two straight steals on FDU's inbounding that were converted to fast break layups. Farris had the second of the two steals, and made the shot, putting LIU up, 58-42 at 16:44, forcing another FDU timeout.

The two teams traded points from that point on, with FDU cutting LIU's lead to 10. The Knights would make a serious run, sparked by back-to-back three pointers from Tiffany Grant. Her shots started a 14-4 run by the Knights, which would cut LIU's lead to just three points, 74-71 at 4:45.

FDU stayed close until the end, using a long jumper to cut the gap to 78-75 with 57 seconds left on the clock, but LIU was able to survive the late threat, winning 79-75.  

Up next, the Blackbirds return to the northeast, taking on Bryant, Monday, January 26 at 7 p.m.
 
BLACKBIRD BITS
• Sophie Bhasin led LIU with 19 points, six rebounds and five steals.
• Shanovia Dove and Brianna Farris each had 13 points in the win.
• Shanice Vaughan had eight points, a team-high 8 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block for LIU.
• LIU had 11 players score in the win, including 38 points from the bench. The Blackbirds also had 21 steals.
• FDU had 20 second chance points, most from Erika Livermore, who had five offensive rebounds.
• The Knights had three players in double figures, led by Livermore, with 28, Kelsey Cruz with 19, and Tiffany Grant, with 10.
• The 51 points scored in the first half were the most points in a half by the Blackbirds this season.
• The Blackbirds shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half, the highest half percentage all season long. LIU also shot 50 percent from the field overall, the best shooting percentage by the team this season.