Blackbirds Win Seventh Straight, Dispatch Fairleigh Dickinson, 60-47

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1/20/07 -- The Long Island University women’s basketball team notched its seventh win in a row, with a 60-47 victory over conference rival Fairleigh Dickinson. The Fijian duo of junior Mikaelar Whippy (Suva, Fiji) and freshman Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji) combined to score 33 points and lead Long Island past the Knights.

After taking a 27-21 halftime lead, the Blackbirds (14-5, 7-1 Northeast Conference) used a quick 9-0 run to put some significant distance between themselves and the Knights. Freshman Minna Sten (Turku, Finland) drained a three-pointer to kick off the scoring burst, with Nainima adding a jumper on the next Long Island possession. Nainima finished with 16 points and pulled down five rebounds.

Senior Sonya Coleman (Toledo, Ohio) capped the run in dramatic fashion. With the shot clock winding down, she fed the ball inside to Sten, who bobbled the pass. Sten and a Fairleigh Dickinson defender both dove for the ball and Sten came up with it and deftly flicked it back to Coleman. The 5-foor-6 guard heaved a long three-pointer that banked high off the glass and in just as the buzzer sounded, drawing a rise out of the Long Island bench and putting the Knights in a 39-27 hole.

From there, the Blackbirds managed to hold off Fairleigh Dickinson’s attempts at a comeback. The closest the Knights (6-11, 3-4) would come from that point on would be eight points.

Whippy finished with a game-high 17 points and dished out five assists, while Coleman netted five and collected six caroms. Senior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) hit for 10 points and fellow post player Sten closed with seven of her own.

Jennifer Walking led the Knights with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Connie James (Galloway, N.J.) paced the Blackbirds with eight boards.

Long Island will return to action on Monday, Jan. 22 when the Blackbirds visit Wagner at 5:00 p.m. The game can be seen locally on Fox SportsNet.