HACKENSACK, N.J. — The Long Island University women's basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start on Friday night, falling to Fairleigh Dickinson, 64-50 at the Rothman Center.

Sophomore Brandy Thomas led the Sharks with 13 points and finished with eight rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Ryan Weise added nine points and four assists. Sophomore Kiara Bell registered a team-high nine boards.

GAME BREAKDOWN

Fairleigh Dickinson opened the game with a 10-2 start. The Knights would continue to carry that momentum over through the rest of the first half, building up a 38-11 advantage at the half. LIU was held to a 15.8% from the floor in the opening half while FDU shot 50% from the field. The Knights defense forced 19 LIU turnovers in the first half.

LIU's offense got going out of the half with a 14-5 stretch to begin the third quarter. Five different Sharks contributed during that run led by five points from Weise. After a FDU free throw, Thomas connected on a triple and junior Ella Vaatanen added a layup to bring the score to 44-30 with 4:40 remaining in the quarter. The Knights responded with a 12-6 closing stretch in the third to take a 56-36 lead into the fourth.

The Sharks made a strong start to the fourth quarter as Thomas opened the frame with a jumper and Weise connected on a three-pointer to bring the score to 56-41 at the 7:48 mark. The scoring would even out as the final quarter wore on for the Knights to seal the 64-50 victory and avenge a loss to the Sharks from earlier this season. LIU looked to combat a slow shooting opening half, going 41.7% clip from the floor and 44.4% from long distance in the second half.

SHARK BITES

• Thomas finished in double figures for the 10th straight game and the 21st time this season. She also tied her season and career-high with five steals against the Knights.
• Weise added nine points and a game-high four assists.
• Sophomore Tiya Misir contributed six points and one steal for the Sharks in 11 minutes off the bench.
• Junior Ella Vaatanen recorded five points and four rebounds and two steals in 12 minutes of action.
• The Sharks registered double-digit steals for the third straight game and 11th time this season with 14 steals against the Knights.
• Fairleigh Dickinson narrowly edged out LIU in the rebounding battle, with a 35-34 advantage on the glass.

UP NEXT

The Sharks conclude the road swing on Sunday, February 23 with a matchup against Saint Francis U. LIU and SFU are scheduled to tip-off at 1:00 p.m. in the opening game of a doubleheader with the men's teams at DeGol Arena.