On Jan. 29, a DIII women’s basketball matchup featuring the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Devils against Arcadia University Knights occurred at the Ferguson Recreation Center in Madison, NJ. FDU Women’s Basketball previously held a record of 0-7, but after yesterday, it’s moved to 0-8. On the other hand, Arcadia Women’s Basketball had a record of 10-7, coming out on top once again as it increases to 11-7. The matchup between the two was nothing short of electric. The game ended with a score of 79-64, Arcadia taking a win back with them on the road.
Early in the game, it was easy to notice some standout players repping both colors. On the Devils, #30, Kolby Lynch was a force to be reckoned with. Lynch has earned 241 points this season, and she was one to keep an eye on. Throughout this matchup, she accumulated 15 points. Similarly, teammate Christina Centeno, #11, was also an exciting player to watch. She has 191 points this season and earned 13 this game. From the Knights, #21 Hanna Rhoades has 328 points this season, and in this match alone, 20 points. Not far behind her is #5 Scarlett Glasser-Nehls, who earned 19 points tonight, contributing to her season total of 198.
The first quarter left both teams neck and neck. The game began with FDU taking the early initiative to earn themselves the first few points, a good jumper giving them the early lead to two points. But the Knights didn’t let this go on for long, within minutes Arcadia had taken the score to 5-5. The minutes that followed were intense. A combination of jumpers and layups, with a little more than three minutes left in the quarter, resulted in a close 13-11. As the clock started to run, Centeno took matters into her own hands and built up the lead for FDU. Despite this, Kylie Meredith didn’t see this as a challenge, instead sneaking in a layup to end the quarter with a score of 13-15 FDU.
Both Arcadia and FDU were locked in this second quarter. And spoiler alert, the tables had turned. Immediately, a good free throw started the Devil’s off nicely until Mara Weaver took advantage of a fast break and evened up the score nicely (16-16). Not long after, she pursued with two good free throws, giving the Knights the lead. Continuing on the high, within a minute, Glasser-Nehls scored two three-pointers, extending the team’s lead. As the quarter progressed, three good free throws helped the girls of FDU get back in the swing of things. This was until Ava Gumienny answered back with another three-pointer, shortly followed by another from Delaney Bell for the Devils. As both teams continued, the points ran back and forth, and the quarter ultimately ended 37-27, with Arcadia in the lead.
Both teams came into the third quarter ready to shed blood, sweat, and tears. It took an intense minute for the score to begin to flip. Once again, the Devils kicked it off with another three-pointer from Centeno, but this was handed right back by Glasser-Nehls merely seconds later, who did it again, along with a tip-in shortly after. The quarter progressed, and the Devils began to slowly chip away at the lead the Knights made on them. Free throws and two-pointers were critical at this point, to which they delivered. The game began to flip back and forth, as one team would begin to rise the other would bite back just as hard. With a little over a minute left in the quarter, Arcadia grabbed onto another five points to add to their lead, comfortably leading the end of the quarter with a score of 66-47.
The tension amongst the crowd was hard to ignore. Both teams had fought greatly to get to this point, as it all came down to this final quarter. Once again, Lynch proved why she is seen as a leader of the team, as a quick layup followed by a jumper kicked off the quarter. Gabrielle Walker and Julia Vasquez also took this as an opportunity to extend their leader, both jumpers adding another four points to their score. Bell, Vasquez, Glasser-Nehls, and Bianca Sode fought back and forth, the score growing for both teams quickly. With another five points added to the Knights, courtesy of Bell and Rhoades, they continued until the last minute with confidence. The Devils did not see this as a threat, Jasmine Relovsky with a quick jumper with another two for her team as the final seconds were upon the crowd. As the clock ticked down, Gabriella Mazzotte landed two final free throws. Despite this, it was not enough to conquer the Arcadia Knights, who accumulated a final score of 79, drawing the game to a close.
This will not be the last we see of both of these teams, as they continue throughout their intense schedules this season. This Saturday, Arcadia will take on DeSales University at 1 p.m. in Center Valley, PA. Also this Saturday, King’s College will be facing off against the FDU Devils at 1 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Both teams plan to see each other once again on Feb. 18, so stay tuned for another matchup with these two.
