MOUNT ST. MARY'S (7-8, 5-3 NEC) VS. FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (10-8, 7-1 NEC)
Thursday, January 27^th | 5 p.m.
Emmitsburg, Md. | Knott Arena
ESPNU (John Brinkley, Aja Ellison – Commentators)
 
GAME NOTES | WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
EMMITSBURG, Md. (January 26, 2022) – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball rose through the Northeast Conference standings on the backs of their four-game winning streak. On Thursday, they face their toughest test to date, welcoming the frontrunner Fairleigh Dickinson Knights to Knott Arena.  
 
FDU holds a two-game grip on the top spot in the NEC, with Mount St. Mary's one of the contenders tied for second place.
 
The two sides were supposed to meet on December 29^th in Teaneck to open the conference slate, but COVID issues sidelined the Mount, who took a forfeit.
 
THE MATCHUP
 
Rivals in the NEC since the Mount joined in 1989-90, the two sides have met 63 times with the Mountaineers winning 37 of them. Most of that 11-game advantage came in the past six seasons, as the Mount won eight consecutive contests before the Knights took a 66-63 decision in March 2020.
 
Last year, the squads split the regular season before the Mount defeated FDU, 77-62, in the NEC Semifinals. The Knights hit a COVID spell of their own that inhibited them, leaving only seven healthy players.
 
MOUNTAINEER REPORT
 
The four-game win streak began on January 15^th with a knockout of Bryant. Since then the Mount has taken down Merrimack, Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut, with the four wins coming by an average of 11 points per victory.
 
Four players reached double figures in a roller coaster of a game against the Blue Devils, led by Kendall Bresee with 17. Mount St. Mary's led by as much as 21 before seeing that advantage cut all the way back to a single point before taking the game, 71-60. Michaela Harrison, Kayla Agentowicz and Isabella Hunt scored 10 or more.
 
Bresee continues to lead the NEC in scoring, upping her average to 15.6 points per game. Agentowicz is the model of efficiency, topping the conference with a .527 field goal percentage (49-93). Both efforts spearhead the charge to a league leading .445 percentage and 66.7 points on average.
 
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS  
 
Fairleigh Dickinson does a good job in both scoring the ball and defending. The Knights stand third in offense at 62.9 points per game and second in defense at 60 points flat. Once NEC play hit, that margin increased to a respective 65.3 and 55.4, helping them achieve the largest scoring margin in the conference.
 
Using a balanced attack to score, graduate student Madison Stanley and sophomore Chloe Wilson tie atop the team leaderboard with 12.6 points averaged. The duo also picks up the bulk of the rebounding duties, while Stanley stands first in the conference for blocks with 29. Wilson adds 23 steals to lead the Knights and rank seventh in the league.
 
The Knights enjoyed a substantial boost since the hire of Angelika Szumilo in 2019, jumping from eighth place in 2018-19 to hosting a home playoff game to first place in the standings this season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
 
This is the first of two games played in Knott Arena this weekend. On Saturday (Jan. 29), the Mount host Saint Francis U – another team vying for a top spot in the NEC – for a 2 p.m. tip time.