BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team notched its first Northeast Conference win of the season Monday night in the Steinberg Wellness Center, beating Fairleigh Dickinson, 81-71. The Blackbirds were led by junior Sophie Bhasin's 27 points, while sophomore Shanovia Dove had a career-high 16 points.

The game was one of wild swings throughout. Early in the evening, the Knights scored four straight points to take a 6-5 lead at 16:21. Dove sparked an LIU run, however, scoring four straight points, as a part of an 8-0 Blackbird run that would give LIU the 13-6 lead at 13:17. As would be the theme for the night, FDU answered with an 8-0 run of its own, tying the game up at 13-13 at the 11-minute mark. Another 8-1 run, including back-to-back layups by Dove and Bhasin for LIU would put them back on top, 25-16. The Blackbirds would maintain the lead for the rest of the half, despite FDU's best attempts to chip away. Freshman DeAngelique Waithe gave LIU a bump heading into the break, as she had a last-second jumper that would give the Blackbirds a 38-27 lead at halftime.

LIU's momentum carried over into the second half, when junior Shanice Vaughan hit a jumper at 19:41. On FDU's next possession, Bhasin snagged a steal and made the fast-break layup, giving LIU a 44-27 advantage, and forcing the Knights to call a timeout.

FDU wouldn't go down without a fight, however. Just two minutes later, the Knights went on a tear, scoring 10 unanswered points to close LIU's lead to 46-39 at 15:01. LIU was able to push the cushion back up to eight points, but another 9-0 run by the Knights cut the gap to just four points, 62-58 at 6:03. FDU continued to push, and took the lead on free throws, 65-64 with 2:56 left to play.

LIU was able to shift the momentum back towards the Blackbirds, when Bhasin hit a three pointer at 2:12. Senior Letava Whippy added a jumper to widen the lead to 72-65 at 1:21, and from there, it was LIU's to lose. In the final minute of play, the Knights played the foul game, but it backfired. The Blackbirds went 7-for-8 from the free throw line to win the game by a final score of 81-71.

Up next, LIU travels to Wagner to take on the Seahawks, Saturday, January 10 at 1 p.m.

BLACKBIRD BITS
• Bhasin scored 27 points, a career high, going 10-for-11 from the free throw line.
• Dove had a career-high 16 points, shooting 50% from the field and 72% from the free throw line. She also had four steals in the win
• 10 of LIU's 12 players scored points in the total team win, including junior Jolanna Ford (9 pts, 6 rebs), senior Letava Whippy (7 pts, 12 rebs), and junior Jahmia Phillips (6 pts).
• Freshman Paris Jones added four assists (a career-high) and three steals