By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)
TEANECK, N.J. — At her introductory press conference in 2023, FDU head coach Stephanie Gaitley remarked about having coached in the Northeast Conference, but never winning the tournament championship.
“I’ve been to the championship game,” the former Monmouth and LIU coach remarked. “But (I’ve) never won. It’s something I really want to do and would love to do here at FDU.”
In front of a largely partisan crowd at Bogota Savings Bank Center, the dream was realized. Not just for Gaitley, but the staff, team, alumni and student body as the top-seeded Knights defeated second seed Stonehill in the NEC championship, 66-49.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Gaitley said. “It’s very surreal because this is one for the record books. This is a memory they are living right now and won’t forget. With the support cast we have and so many different people involved this, is truly special. To be able to win the Northeast Conference with this group of players we have here was special, and very memorable.”
The Knights started fast, running out to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes. The opening possession saw a low post entry converted by Teneisia Brown. Immediately, you knew the FDU game plan. The visiting Skyhawks would find their range, ultimately trimming the lead to five points, but FDU quickly regrouped and took a 35-21 lead into halftime.
Stonehill head coach Tricia Brown was dealing with two problems, matching up with Brown—who scored 20 first-half points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, and the defense of FDU’s Abaigeal Babore. The graduate guard was assigned to Stonehill’s top scorer Sharn Hayward, a 16-point per game scorer.
“She’s a great three-point shooter,” Babore commented. “In the scout, the plan was to run her off the line and make her a driver.”
Hayward was relentlessly defended by Babore, finishing the half with three points on 1-of-9 shooting.
“She takes such pride in what she does,” Gaitley said of Babore. “She does the little things and toughs it out.”
Stonehill came out on a 10-2 run to get the deficit to two possessions with five minutes to play in the third period. A 2-3 zone employed by the Skyhawks slowed the Knights down. Doubling Brown on low-post catches was another factor.
“We were not in a good offensive rhythm the first half,” Brown admitted. “The second half, we found the rhythm. We also started to make shots, plus our zone defense helped as well.”
The difference was four points when FDU’s Abby
Conklin buried a three-pointer. On the next Stonehill
possession, Babore drew an offensive foul.
FDU enjoyed the lead, and most important momentum, as the final ten minutes unfolded. Two Lilly Parke field goals increased the difference to 11.
Stonehill was an opponent refusing to go away. The Skyhawks fought gamely. The problem was time and score, an eight-point deficit with 4:42 left. It would be a tall order against the defensive-minded Knights. It became further complicated as Brown did what veterans do, converting several inside opportunities in the stretch on her way to a game-high 34 points, adding eight rebounds. Freshman guard Ava Renninger scored 10 points in the win.
Accolades: Brown was named NEC tournament MVP. Joining her on the all-tournament team were her teammate Parke of FDU, Hayward and Brooke Paquette of Stonehill, and Aiyanna Culver of Chicago State.
Outlook: Stonehill finished 17-15, but Brown sees the future of the program bright and encouraging.
“I’m so proud of my team to get here,” she said. “The basketball we’ve been playing has been really, really impressive. We’re not done, we have an opportunity to play in the WNIT and I’m so grateful for that. Starting last spring in workouts, you can see our work ethic was different and we had different competitive nature. We need to get better.”
Notes: FDU, 29-3 and 16-0 in NEC play, entered the contest certain it would go dancing. Stonehill defeated Le Moyne to advance to the championship game. Both teams recently joined the ranks of Division I and are still not eligible for NCAA Tournament play.
In her storied career, Gaitley has now taken four programs to the NCAA Tournament: Richmond, Saint Joseph’s, Fordham, and now, FDU.
In the offseason, Brown had a chance to transfer. In
these days of so many leaving and changing schools, Brown’s choice to stay at FDU was refreshing.
“The reason was very simple,” she said. “I’m happy here, and that’s all that matters.”
FDU won the NEC twice, but this will be the Knights’
first NCAA Tournament appearance.
“FDU won the NEC in 1992 and 1993,” recalled Coco Vanderslice Lefkowitz, Gaitley’s sister, who played at FDU in the late 1970s and early ’80s.
“Back then, there was no automatic bid for conference champions,” she said. “The NCAA took what they felt were the best teams. In 1994, the conference champions started getting the automatic bid.”
Gaitley offered a touching tribute as she went to cut the net, holding a picture of herself and her late sister Tara, who passed away this past fall.
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