WASHINGTON (December 7, 2019) – Howard University women's basketball team took down Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU), 64-56, in their return to The Burr. With the victory, HU improved to 5-4 on the season.
 
Howard led start to finish while holding FDU to only 33-percent (21-of-63) from the floor.
 
"I thought we played a solid game overall," said Howard women's basketball head coach Ty Grace after today's win. "Defensively, we had some lapses that I wasn't too happy about, but I thought the last five minutes of the game, we did a much better job containing and being discipline in the post without fouling."
 
Four Bison reached double figures, led by senior guard Ayonna Williams (Washington) with a game-high 17 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe.
 
"Ayonna [Williams] did a great job attacking the basket [today]," Grace added. "She was able to put some pressure on their defense."
 
HU grabbed an 18-11 advantage after one, shooting a respectable 44-percent (7-of-16) from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
FDU sliced the margin down to a one-possession game before halftime, thanks to a pair of freebies by Aniya Bell, 26-24.
 
After intermission, Bell connected on a jumper and pulled the Knights within one, 32-31, but Howard finished the third on a 10-2 run to take a seven-point lead after three, 42-35.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson opened the fourth period with a 12-3 spurt and trimmed the deficit down to two, 47-45, but the Bison withstood another Knights run with a run of their own.
 
Third-year sharpshooter Jayla Thornton (Newark, N.J.) drilled a trey ball with 2:21 remaining to capped off a 10-2 run and put the contest out of reach.
 
Despite shooting only 36-percent (22-of-61) from the field, Howard found its rhythm from long range, connecting on 50-percent (5-of-10) from downtown. Thornton and senior guard Sarah Edmond (Freeport, N.Y.) led the way, making all five attempts behind the arc.
 
Thornton finished with 11 points while Edmond chipped in 10 points.
 
Howard maximized their possessions, limiting turnovers to only 14 while forcing 18 Knight miscues.
 
"Offensively, I was more pleased that we had under 20 turnovers this game," Grace expressed. "We have been doing a poor job securing the ball and but today we limited that. We also got quality minutes out from our bench today."
 
HU registered 20 points off the bench, led by second-year guard Gia Thorpe (Pittsburgh) tallying 10 points in the victory.
 
For FDU (0-7), Madison Stanley produced 15 points while Bell and Lauren Francillion added 14 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.
 
Saturday (Dec. 14), Howard concludes its brief two-game homestand versus Niagara. The action starts 4 p.m. inside The Burr.
 
Saturday's promotion is Taste of D.C.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.