FDU gets off schneid with resilient second half to repel Saint Peter’s

Freshman guard Ava Renninger runs FDU’s offense in Saturday’s win over Saint Peter’s. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

TEANECK, N.J. — A strong second half allowed FDU to get back on track.

The Knights snapped a two-game losing streak Saturday, posting a 67-50 victory over Saint Peter’s at the Bogota Savings Bank Center to improve their record to 5-2. The Peacocks remain winless, dropping to 0-5.

Points of Emphasis

A tale of two halves: At halftime, FDU held a 26-24 lead. Coach Stephanie Gaitley was not upset so much with the score as she was with how her team was playing.

“I told them that was the worst half of basketball,” Gaitley said. “I reminded them how we started last season losing our first five and how we were hungry for that first win. (Saint Peter’s) plays hard and are well-coached. The second half, we came out much better.”

The efficiency (points per possession x 100) numbers show the contrast of halves.

First half: FDU 81, Saint Peter’s 75

Second half: FDU 146, Saint Peter’s 93

Beyond the numbers, the Knights came out with a

sense of urgency on the defensive end. Teneisia

Brown struggled in the first 20 minutes. Following the break, the fifth-year senior was more assertive. Brown finished with six points, but added a game-high 11 rebounds.

“I emphasize the details,” Gaitley added. “It’s still a

learning experience, but I really thought in the second half, we handled the details and little things, playing much better.”

Freshman orientation: Ava Renninger has been the Knights’ leading scorer to date, checking in at 14 points per game. The freshman guard from Yardley, Pennsylvania gained added attention with her 16-point performance this past Wednesday at UConn.

“She has been solid for us,” Gaitley praised.

The coach noted Renninger has been prone to have a defensive lapse here or there. Early in the game, Gaitley took her out to talk to her about it. Upon returning, her defense improved. She got the message.

Saint Peter’s: The Peacocks are winless, but did give Fordham a battle on Friday, dropping a 64-56 decision at Rose Hill Gymnasium.

“We are a young team and still learning,” Saint Peter’s coach Jen Leedham said. “I thought (FDU) just had more experience than us.”

The season has started rough for the Peacocks. There has been improvement defensively, per Leedham, which should serve them well in MAAC play. A bright spot for Saint Peter’s was the play of Fatmata Janneh (a game-high 22 points) and Layla Laws (14 points), who were effective inside. Both players have been consistent contributors. The Peacocks, though, need a third scorer to step up on a steady basis.

A final note of encouragement was in the turnover department. Saint Peter’s entered the game with a 32 percent turnover rate. Saturday, the Peacocks showed an excellent 8 percent, committing just six miscues.

Plus/minus: This is a metric subscribed to by the NBA that is now gaining traction on the college level, as the stat sheets have the game total for plus-minus, which accounts for the points scored or given up by your team when you are on the floor. If you enter with the game tied and you exit with your team ahead by seven, you are a plus-7. Yours truly does not follow it religiously, but sometimes the result makes you look closely at a player.

In the Saint Peter’s game the plus-minus leader for FDU was Abaigeal Babore, who checked in with a plus-19. The graduate student guard scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds while having an assist and a steal against one turnover in 34 minutes of action, a consistent all-around effort definitely contributing to the win.

“She is our X-factor,” Gaitley said of Babore. “She sets the screen, takes the charge and does every little thing well.”

UConn: Gaitley spoke about Wednesday’s game, when the Huskies defeated FDU in Geno Auriemma’s record 1,217th victory.

“We did not go in scared or intimidated,” Gaitley said. “We played our game. If a few of our shots we normally hit fell, we could have hung in there a little longer. They are so talented and the atmosphere was incredible that night.”

Renninger, playing in just her sixth collegiate game, felt that while the whole setting at Gampel Pavilion was unbelievable, “we all came out and played with a lot of energy that night.”

Notes: Abby Conklin led FDU with 19 points, shooting 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. FDU shot 43 percent inside the arc while connecting on nine of its 17 three-point attempts. The Knights shot 46 percent overall while limiting Saint Peter’s to 32 percent.

FDU won the rebounding battle, 41-29, with a 38-27 advantage on offensive rebound percentage. Saint Peter’s, largely due to the work of Janneh and Laws, outscored FDU in the paint, 30-24.

FDU is on the road until just before Christmas. The Knights will visit Lafayette, Rider and Rutgers before hosting Saint Michael’s on December 19.

Saint Peter’s has now played all five contests away

from home. The Peacocks are at Monmouth on Tuesday before their first home game the following Sunday against NJIT.

Among those in attendance were FDU men’s head coach Jack Castleberry, longtime Asbury Park Press sportswriter Tony Graham, Edona Thaqi; who played for Gaitley at Fordham and is now a freelance journalist, and Jon Levinson the NEC officiating supervisor, who took in the noon game before catching a flight en route to another observation.

FDU athletic director Brad Hurlbut and deputy AD Cathy Liggett honor head coach Stephanie Gaitley with commemorative ball marking her 700th career victory. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)