BOX SCORE

Hackensack, NJ – Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Wagner 68-66 in double overtime at the Rothman Center in a closely contested contest that featured 12 lead changes and 10 ties. With the win, the Knights are now 4-7 and 3-1 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Seahawks are 4-9 and 0-3 in the NEC.

In the second extra session, Fairleigh Dickinson scored the first four points only to see Wagner come back and tie it up at 62-62 with 1:32 to go on jumpers from sophomore Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) and freshman Kanifa Hicks (Paterson, NJ / Passaic County Tech). Fairleigh Dickinson's Christy Altamirano then drained a pair from the line before junior Andrea Reed (Pocomoke City, MD / Pocomoke) followed suit to tie it up at 64-64 with just 48 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Jordan Sykes' lay-up with just 33 seconds to go gave the Knights a slim two-point lead with just 33 seconds remaining. Sykes then stole the ball on the ensuing possession before making it a four-point game with a pair from the line. Senior Casey Stokes (Hummelstown, PA / Lower Dauphin) followed suit with a pair from the line to trim the deficit to two with four seconds to go. Wagner was then afforded one last chance when Mariyah Laury missed both free throws. However, Wagner's tough-luck would continue as Reed's last-ditch heave fell just short.

Hicks paced Wagner with a career-high 16 points, on 6-14 shooting, with eight rebounds and four steals to fuel a 23-6 advantage in bench points for the Green & White. Olsen had another strong game with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Reed scored 14 points, including 11 of Wagner's final 18 points, with six rebounds and four assists while turning the ball over just two turnovers in a career-best 48 minutes. Freshman Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ / St. Rose) also stood out, pulling down a team-best 11 caroms with nine points.

Sykes scored seven of Fairleigh Dickinson's 11 points in the second overtime and all 18 of her points after intermission with five assists over 47 minutes to lead the Knights. She also went 8-8 from the charity stripe. Mariyah Laury scored a game-high 20 points while Altamirano grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds – second most in school history - with 13 points to lead the Knights.

It was the Seahawks' second-straight third overtime game and their third of the year, having previously defeated Colgate before losing to St. Francis (NY). The last time the Green & White participated in a double overtime contest was in an 83-75 loss at Colgate on November 24, 2002.

Both teams struggled from the floor with Fairleigh Dickinson making good on just 27.8 percent (20-72) and Wagner on 27.3 percent (18-66). However, both teams shot extremely well from the charity stripe with the Seahawks cashing in on 70.0 percent (28-40) of its attempts and the Knights 75.0 percent (21-28).

In the first overtime, each team scored just four points with Reed accounting for all of Wagner's offense from the line.

Down seven at intermission, Fairleigh Dickinson scored the first eight points of the second half to reclaim the lead at 31-30. Later in the half with the Seahawks up one following a Clark lay-up, the Knights scored six-straight points to assume a 43-38 lead with 7:11 to go. The Knights appeared to be in control after Sykes hit a pair of free throws at the 5:49 mark to push the lead out to 48-40 with just 5:49 to go. The ever-persistent Seahawks would not go away, ripping off a 11-3 run to tie the game up at 51-51 with 2:42 to go, capped by Reed's only three pointer of the game.

Sykes answered by hitting two free throws with just 24 seconds to go to make it 53-51 only to seeReed drain a jumper in the paint to tie it up at 53-53 to force overtime.

Fairleigh Dickinson opened the game on fire, drilling three quick three pointers on its way to an early 14-6 lead while holding the Green & White without a field goal until the 13:58 mark. Wagner then embarked on a 17-4 run over the next 7:35. Mariyah Laury briefly quelled the run with a lay-up before the Seahawks ripped off six-straight points to take their biggest lead of the half at 29-20 following a pair of free throws from Hicks. After a Knight triple, Reed split a pair for her first point of the evening to give the Seahawks a 30-23 lead at intermission.

Down eight to start the game, the Seahawks ended the half by outscoring the Knights 24-9 over the last 14:28. During the pivotal spurt, the Wagner defense limited Fairleigh Dickinson to just four field goals (19 attempts) and 21.1 percent shooting from the floor.

Wagner hosts Long Island on Saturday, January 10 at 4:00 pm.