MADISON, N.J. – The FDU-Florham Devils women's basketball team advanced to the "Elite Eight" by defeating Baldwin Wallace University 66-42 in the third round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday night at the Ferguson Recreation Center.

FDU-Florham (30-0) trailed by a bucket at intermission; however, the Devils outscored the Yellow Jackets 44-18 in the second stanza en route to the 24-point victory. The Devils will take on Montclair State University on Saturday night at 7 p.m. with a trip to the Final Four in Stevens Point, Wisconsin hanging in the balance. Montclair State (28-2) defeated University of Scranton 82-77 in the other Sectional round game on Friday evening.

In the first half, both teams struggled mightily to put the ball in the basket. With 11:04 to play in the opening half, the Devils held a 20-9 advantage, however, FDU-Florham fell into a shooting rut and the Yellow Jackets closed the period with a 15-2 run to grab a 24-22 lead at the break. Over the first 20 minutes of action, the Devils converted nine of their 36 field goal attempts equating to 25 percent, while Baldwin Wallace shot 7-for-31 (22.6%) from the floor. Sophomore forward Shalette Brown (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) was the lone exception and shot 4-for-4 from the field and totaled nine points with three rebounds. Brown battled foul trouble all night but still finished with 13 points and six rebounds in her 15 minutes of action.

Early in the second half, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a six-point lead, which was their largest of the contest. FDU-Florham missed their first five shots of the second stanza but managed to earn points at the free throw line. With 16:07 to play in regulation, Kara Dayon (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) finally ended the dry spell by drilling a three-pointer, which brought the Devils within one-point at 29-28. Prior to Dayon's long ball, the Devils had only knocked down one out of their ten attempts from beyond the arc.

After a bucket by Baldwin Wallace freshman Clara Lemmon, the Devils snatched control of the contest. Trailing 33-30, the Devils fired off a 17-0 run to stake a 47-33 lead with 9:55 to play. Junior guard Leigh-Ann Lively (Bangor, Pa./Notre Dame) came off of the bench to spark the run with ten points, including two momentum-swinging three-pointers. Lively's performance ignited the home-crowd and propelled the Devils to the victory. Over the course of the decisive-swing, FDU-Florham converted all four of their shot attempts, knocked down seven of their nine free throw attempts and caused three turnovers. The Devils coasted to the finish and stamped their "Elite Eight" ticket.

Once again, FDU-Florham featured a balanced attack with five players totaling double-figure scoring efforts. Freedom Conference Player of the Year Kyra Dayon (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) led all scorers with 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. Lively finished with 13 points, while Kara Dayon added 12 points, seven rebounds, and three steals in the victory.

Baldwin Wallace junior guard Audrey Smolik paced the Yellow Jackets with 10 points and five rebounds in defeat. The Devils limited the Yellow Jackets to 23.7 percent shooting in the contest, including 4-for-22 (18.2%) from downtown.

FDU-Florham got the job done at the free throw line and knocked down 20-of-25 attempts from the charity stripe. After a 1-for-9 effort from three-point land in the first half, the Devils heated up and shot 5-for-10 from beyond the arc in the second stanza.