PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Seventh-ranked FDU-Florham improved to 20-0 on the season with a 67-52 win against Manhattanville on Thursday night at Kennedy Gym.
The Devils (9-0 Freedom) jumped out to a comfortable first-half lead and maintained control en route to the double-digit victory. Rachel Groom paced FDU-Florham with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds.
FDU-Florham scored the first nine points of the game, which included two baskets by Kara Dayon. With 10:22 to play in the opening stanza, the Devils had built a 22-8 lead and gained control of the contest. Delisha Thompson came off the bench and tallied 10 first-half points, as FDU-Florham entered intermission with a 39-24 advantage. Thompson finished with 12 points and six rebounds on the night.
In the second half, the Devils wasted no time increasing their lead by scoring 14 of the first 16 points to amass a 53-26 cushion. Manhattanville put together a late rally and managed to cut the deficit to 12 but the Valiants ran out of time.
Manhattanville received a team-high 12 points from freshman Candice Scott-Mason, while junior Alyson Caiazzo pulled down 16 rebounds in the loss.
Kyra Dayon totaled double figures with 10 points and six boards along with three steals and three assists for FDU-Florham. The stingy FDU-Florham defense limited the Valiants to just 1-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc and caused 17 turnovers in the contest.
