FAIRFIELD, CONN. (February 25, 2015)—With her fourth 20-plus point performance of the season, Gabrielle Washington (Mesa, Ariz.) led the Sacred Heart women's basketball team to a nail-biting 66-65 win over Fairleigh Dickinson Monday night on Coach Bike Court in the William H. Pitt Center. The senior shot 50% (7-14) from the field for 21 points and missed a double-double by just one rebound as SHU clinched a Northeast Conference quarterfinal home game.
Washington was just one of four Pioneers to reach double-digit points. Lerae Ettienne (Kensington, Md.), who laid in the game-winner, tallied 14, while Katie Shepard (Lone Tree, Colo.) and Adaysha Williams (LaCrosse, Wis.) totaled 12 and 11 respectively.
The lead changed hands four times early in the game before the Knights busted open a 12 all tie with a 9-3 run to climb to a 21-15 lead. They continued to widen the gap as SHU struggled offensively, eventually maxing out with a 12-point lead, 29-17, with 5:31 remaining in the half.
Alissa Tarsi (Clinton, N.J.) put a halt to FDU's scoring with a lay-in igniting a 9-2 SHU run that cut the Knights' lead to five points, 31-26. The Pioneers could only minimize the deficit to four points in the final minute before Kelsey Cruz hit a jumper 22 seconds before the buzzer to give Fairleigh Dickinson a 36-30 lead going into the break.
Junior Ettienne provided a spark for SHU to open the first half with two baskets from inside the paint, the Knights quickly put a stop to SHU scoring with five straight points. Senior Shepard brought the Pioneers all the way back landing a deep triple to knot the game at 41 before the 14:14 media timeout.
Ericka Livermore tipped the scales back in the Fairleigh Dickinson's favor making a pair from the charity stripe and laying one in off an offensive rebound. While never falling far behind, the Pioneers continued to trail through the better part of the second half.
With just over six minutes to play Williams stuffed Rainey Cox's shot. Ettienne got the rebound dishing it to Washington who laid in the fast break points cutting the Knights' lead to just one point, 57-56. With 5:27 left in the game, Williams landed a contested shot picking up the and-one basket to give SHU a 59-57 advantage.
FDU tied it right back up at 59 with Cruz's two foul shots starting back-and-forth action. With the Knights down just one point after Washington hit one of two from the line, Tiffany Grant reclaimed the lead for FDU, 63-62, making both shots from the charity stripe. The teams continued to trade baskets and the lead.
With the ball in Sacred Heart's hands with 31.5 seconds remaining in the game and the Pioneers down 64-65, SHU Head Coach Jessica Mannetti called a timeout to draw up a plan. Working the ball around the arch, Washington found Ettienne under the basket for the final lead of the game, 66-65.
Sacred Heart will honor its two graduating seniors, Shepard and Washington, Saturday before the final home game of the regular season. Ceremonies will begin at 12:50 p.m. before the Pioneers tip-off at 1:04 p.m.
