FDU turns back LIU to remain undefeated in NEC

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

TEANECK, N.J. — FDU entered undefeated in Northeast Conference play. The Knights had not seen the short side of the final score since December 11 at Rutgers.

As Northeast Conference play unfolded, the wins kept coming. All through it, coach Stephanie Gaitley warned this is a balanced conference, meaning anyone is capable of knocking another team off regardless of their record or standings, a parity the late great NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle would have loved.

On Saturday, it was evident that FDU has taken Gaitley’s words to heart, as the Knights defeated LIU, 75-45, at the Bogota Savings Bank Center. With the victory, FDU improved to 21-3 (11-0 NEC), while LIU has dropped four of their last five and now stands 6-19 (3-9 NEC).

“I was concerned,” Gaitley admitted. “We could see on tape LIU is very athletic and I was concerned because we sat at the airport (in Chicago the morning after a tough 74–70 win over Chicago State) for four hours yesterday. We didn’t leave until 11 and got back here to do a walkthrough, so I was very proud of the resilient effort today.”

FDU quickly jumped out to a 10-2 lead. The

inside-outside combination of Teneisha Brown and Ava Renninger sparked the fast start.

“It’s hard to beat that,” Gaitley said. “And once those two are hitting and we get everybody on the same page, we are tough to beat.”

The Knights closed the first period with a 19-9 lead.

The visiting Sharks began the second stanza on a 6-0 run to close within two possessions. The hosts immediately answered, getting the lead back to 10. The score was 34-19 in FDU’s favor at halftime. Renninger came out hitting two threes in the first minute to increase the lead to 21 points, and FDU never looked back.

“I thought going in LIU was a team that could beat

you off the dribble,” Gaitley said. “They are aggressive and lead the conference in steals. The big thing today was to keep them out of the paint and off the boards.”

The Knights did the job, owning a superlative 21-0

advantage in second chance points as well as 34-20 in points in the paint. LIU shot 39 percent for the game. The Sharks were 2-for-7 from three and did not hit their second triple until a minute remained and the verdict was all but sealed.

“As good as our offense was,” Gaitley said, “I thought we won this game with defense. We did a pretty good job of keeping them from getting easy looks.”

Points of Emphasis:

More than the stat sheet: On the afternoon, Abaigeal Babore had a nine-point, three-rebound showing. The numbers do not tell the entire story. She defended LIU’s top scorer, Sirviva Legions, and did an excellent job. Legions scored 18 points, but was held to 7-of-15 shooting. FDU’s graduate guard fought through screens and basically made Legions work extra hard for everything.

“Abby is so steady,” Gaitley praised. “She’s our lockdown defender.”

Babore, from Merchantville, New Jersey, played at powerful Paul VI High School. When Babore was a senior, her backcourt mate was one Hannah Hidalgo. The Notre Dame standout is often mentioned in the same sentence as JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers when discussing the nation’s elite players.

“It was amazing,” Babore said when asked about

playing alongside Hidalgo. “She made me more

aggressive. Just as a freshman, I like to think I taught her a few things. I know she had just an incredible talent that is continuing to be shown at Notre Dame. Just playing with her, we got to play a lot on and off the ball. We played really well together and I’m happy to see her success now.”

Babore was asked if she thought this prodigious

freshman could someday reach an elite level.

“Yes,” she replied. “Just knowing the work she put in and what she did on the court. She has such a knack for defense and her instincts are amazing. She’s just as competitive as she was as a (high school) freshman.”

Efficiency: Entering the contest, FDU’s offensive

efficiency was a conference-leading 105 while LIU

checked in at 81. The 17-possession first period saw FDU lead, 19-9, holding a 112-53 edge in offensive efficiency. In a 65 possession game, the Knights held a 115-70 advantage.

Play 4 Kay: On Play 4 Kay Day, to promote breast

cancer awareness and research, FDU warmed up in

pink shirts. The back of the shirts said, “Tara.” That was in memory and honor of Gaitley’s sister, who succumbed to cancer this past fall. Postgame, there was a celebration and remembrance in Tara’s memory. A number of Gailey’s siblings, husband Frank, friends, as well as the FDU staff and team attended this special event to celebrate a life well lived.

Notes: Ava Renninger led the way with a game-high

25 points. Teneisha Brown added 23 for FDU. Sirviva Legions paced LIU with 18. Brown was also the game-high rebounder with 10 boards. Janessa Williams led LIU with nine.

FDU won the rebounding battle by a 37-28 margin.

The Knights forced 17 LIU turnovers, a 25 percent turnover rate, while committing just eight for an excellent 10 percent showing. FDU held a resounding 25-4 lead in points off turnovers.

NEC supervisor of officials Jon Levinson and observer Steve Rubinaccio were on hand to evaluate the crew.