BY: ANTHONY COVINO
Staff Writer
November 16, 2018
The Knights were powerless in their attempt to stop Lafayette and their sophomore forward Natalie Kucowski.
On Nov. 9, the FDU women’s basketball game against Lafayette ended in a 63-57 loss. This was the Knights’ first loss of the season. This result brought their record to 1-1 while Lafayette got their first win of their season.
Kucowski led the way for Lafayette as she finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds. Sophomore Drew Freeland finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds.
For FDU, senior point guard Natalie Zamora finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds and sophomore forward Madison Stanley finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The Knights started the game slow and could not find any of their shots. Lafayette, on the other hand, started the game well and were converting on all of their shots.
FDU started to pick it up in the second quarter as they began knocking down all of their shots. The Knights’ defense also limited the Lafayette offense to keep the game close. FDU went into halftime down 32-23 with work to do in the second half.
“We wanted to pick the tempo up, but kind of slow down and survey the scenery. Swing it to the other side and get a good look,” said head coach Peter Cinella said
The Knights did pick up the tempo in the second half when they came out on fire making all of their shots. A three pointer by senior Peniel M’Bikata gave the Knights a 42-40 lead. The Knights’ offense was starting to come to life in tandem with the Knights’ defense which was still keeping Lafayette’s offense at bay.
“We were rushing too much on offense. We tried swinging the ball to the other side,” Cinella said
At the start of the fourth quarter, Lafayette’s offense started to make all of their shots, and was able to hold off the Knights’ offense. The Knights’ comeback fell short as Lafayette outplayed them in the fourth quarter with the game finishing at 63-57 and a loss for the Knights.
The Knights next game will be away at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, as they play Air Force on Nov. 16.
Photo by Anthony Covino
