Box Score MADISON, N.J. – The No. 5 FDU-Florham Devils women's basketball team's perfect season continued on Saturday afternoon, as they defeated DeSales University and claimed their second consecutive Freedom Conference Championship.

The Devils (27-0, 14-0 Freedom) are onto the NCAA tournament, as the 64-team field will be announced this Monday, March 3^rd at 2:30 p.m. The NCAA will be broadcasting "Selection Monday" live on their website (check back at FDUDevils.com for updates). Last season, in the program's first ever appearance, the Devils were defeated in the opening round by Widener University.

After a sloppy first half, with the two teams combining to commit 27 turnovers, the Bulldogs held a 23-22 lead. Both teams struggled offensively, as the Devils shot 37 percent from the floor, while the Bulldogs finished 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) in the opening stanza. DeSales senior guard Alexiah Grant led all scorers at the break with 13 points, five of which came at the free throw line.

As has been the case lately, FDU-Florham righted the ship in the second half. With the Bulldogs leading 27-25, the Devils fired off an 11-0 run to gain control of the game. Jalessa Lewis (Irvington, N.J./Mount St. Dominic) and Rachel Groom (Edison, N.J./Edison) sparked the scoring run by tallying nine of the team's 11 points. Lewis' 3-pointer with 16:35 to play capped the rally and delighted the home crowd.

With 14:13 to play in regulation, Megan Gallagher finished a layup to bring the Bulldogs within four points at 37-33. However, the Devils picked up the pace again and a pair of 3-pointers by Alyssa McDonough (Parlin, N.J./Sayreville) and Leigh-Ann Lively (Bangor, Pa./Notre Dame) built the FDU-Florham lead to 11 points at 44-33.

DeSales managed to get within six points but FDU-Florham never wavered and with 3:59 remaining a pair of free throws by Freedom Conference Player of the Year Kyra Dayon (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) provided the Devils with their largest lead of the contest, 64-47.

After the game, Groom was named Freedom Conference Tournament MVP for her outstanding performance. The sophomore finished with a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting. Four Devils totaled double-digit scoring efforts, including Lewis who finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and four steals in the win.

Grant, who joined Kyra Dayon on the All-Freedom Conference first team, led the Bulldogs with 16 points . Morgan McCollian added 12 points and six rebounds off of the bench, while Gallagher finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and five steals for DeSales in defeat.

The Devils shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the second half, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

Next up for the Devils:
FDU-Florham will prepare for next weekend's NCAA tournament, which begins on Friday, March 7^th with time and place to be determined.