Coming off of their first Northeast Conference loss of the season at the hands of Sacred Heart, the Quinnipiac University women’s basketball team defeated the Farleigh Dickinson Knights 64-59 Saturday in Teaneck, N.J.

With the win, the Bobcats are now 16-3 overall, with an 8-1 record in conference play. Quinnipiac is currently jockeying with Sacred Heart for first place in the NEC.

Breanna Rooney and Nicole Duperron led Quinnipiac in scoring with 13 points each. Duperron, who started in place of an injured Monique Lee, also grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in her first start of the season.

Quinnipiac started off strong by scoring the first four points of the game. The Bobcats continued their offensive momentum and built up a lead that reached 14 points. The Bobcats maintained the double-digit lead for most of the first half and went into the locker room with a 33-22 advantage.

The Bobcats held FDU to under 20 percent shooting from the field in the first half, while Quinnipiac shot at a 40 percent clip.

An inspired Farleigh Dickinson team came out of the half and rallied. FDU forward Mercedez Walker hit a long jumper on the next possession to cut into the Bobcat lead, 43-36, with 11:44 in the game.

After both teams struggled to score for the next several possessions, junior Erin Kerner connected on two of her six points on a drive and lay-up that opened up a 12 point lead for the Bobcats at 60-48 with 2:50 remaining.

Still, the Knights would not go away easily. After another Walker three pointer, Senior Jennifer Walkling scored three of her team-high 21 points to cut the Bobcat lead to 60-54 with 1:12 left.

The score got as close as 60-57 with 20.5 seconds left, but Kerner and junior Mandy Pennewell each hit pairs of free throws to seal the win for the Bobcats.