Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball
American collegiate basketball team
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The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball team represents Fairleigh Dickinson University in women's college basketball.[2] Their colors are burgundy, white, and blue. This mid-major team competes in the Northeast Conference. The Knights host opponents in the Bogota Savings Bank Center, which can seat up to 6,000,[3] in Hackensack, New Jersey.
(capacity: 1,852)
| Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| University | Fairleigh Dickinson University | ||
| Head coach | Stephanie Gaitley (3rd season) | ||
| Location | Hackensack, New Jersey | ||
| Arena | Bogota Savings Bank Center (capacity: 1,852) | ||
| Conference | Northeast Conference | ||
| Nickname | Knights | ||
| Colors | Burgundy and blue[1] | ||
| NCAA Division I tournament appearances | |||
| 2025, 2026 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| 1990, 1992, 2025, 2026 | |||
| Conference regular-season champions | |||
| 1993, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026 | |||
| Uniforms | |||
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History
The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights women's basketball team joined the Northeast Conference of Division I, in their 1988–89 season. Fairleigh Dickinson started play for women's basketball in 1988 with Sharon Beverly as head coach. They won the Northeast Tournament in 1990 and 1992 but as the NEC did not receive an auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament until 1994. After winning a share of the regular season title in the 1992-93 season, the Knights regressed dramatically in the next couple of years, finishing below .500 for the next eight seasons. The Knights did not finish better than 3rd place in the NEC until the 2021-22 season, when they won the regular season championship with a 15-3 record in conference play.[4] They failed to win the NEC Tournament that year after being upset by Bryant in the Semifinals. Despite this, the Knights were invited to their first postseason tournament with the WNIT. They repeated as regular season champion the following year with a 16-3 record but lost 72-60 to Sacred Heart in the NEC Tournament Final. This was the last game for Angelika Szumilo as coach, as she left to coach Iona.
Stephanie Gaitley was hired to coach in 2023. They went 14-17 in her first season and lost in the NEC Semifinals before the team excelled in her second season, which saw them go 16-0 in NEC play while winning the most games for a season in school history with 27. In the 2025 Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament, due to the conference rules about reclassifying teams making the tournament final, the winner between Chicago State and Dickinson would win the NEC auto bid by default (in the semifinal matchup of reclassifying teams, Stonehill defeated Le Moyne). Dickinson won by a score of 90–61 to clinch a bid into the 2025 NCAA Tournament, their first in school history. They then beat Stonehill 66–49 to win the NEC Tournament and extended their school record to 29 wins for a single season.
Yearly records
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Beverly (1988–1999) | |||||||||
| 1988–89 | Sharon Beverly | 13–14 | 10–6 | 5th | |||||
| 1989–90 | Sharon Beverly | 17–13 | 9–7 | 3rd | NEC Tournament Champs | ||||
| 1990–91 | Sharon Beverly | 11–16 | 8–8 | 7th | |||||
| 1991–92 | Sharon Beverly | 23–6 | 13–3 | 2nd | NEC Tournament Champs | ||||
| 1992–93 | Sharon Beverly | 15–12 | 14–4 | T–1st | |||||
| 1993–94 | Sharon Beverly | 3–24 | 2–16 | 10th | |||||
| 1994–95 | Sharon Beverly | 6–21 | 4–14 | 9th | |||||
| 1995–96 | Sharon Beverly | 12–15 | 8–10 | T–6th | |||||
| 1996–97 | Sharon Beverly | 13–14 | 9–9 | 4th | |||||
| 1997–98 | Sharon Beverly | 6–21 | 6–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1998–99 | Sharon Beverly | 7–19 | 6–14 | 10th | |||||
| Sharon Beverly: | 126–175 (.419) | 89–101 (.468) | |||||||
| Sandy Gordon Gaglioti (1988–1999) | |||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Sandy Gordon Gaglioti | 11–17 | 10–8 | T–6th | |||||
| 2000–01 | Sandy Gordon Gaglioti | 11–17 | 10–8 | T–6th | |||||
| 2001–02 | Sandy Gordon Gaglioti | 14–14 | 9–9 | T–7th | |||||
| 2002–03 | Sandy Gordon Gaglioti | 7–20 | 6–12 | 10th | |||||
| 2003–04 | Sandy Gordon Gaglioti | 13–15 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
| 2004–05 | Sandy Gordon Gaglioti | 2–25 | 1–17 | 11th | |||||
| 2005–06 | Sandy Gordon Gaglioti | 10–18 | 6–12 | T–7th | |||||
| 2006–07 | Sandy Gordon Gaglioti | 11–18 | 8–10 | 7th | |||||
| Sandy Gordon Gaglioti: | 79–144 (.354) | 60–84 (.417) | |||||||
| Peter Cinella (2007–2019) | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | Peter Cinella | 13–17 | 9–9 | 5th | |||||
| 2008–09 | Peter Cinella | 10–20 | 9–9 | T–6th | |||||
| 2009–10 | Peter Cinella | 9–20 | 5–13 | 11th | |||||
| 2010–11 | Peter Cinella | 14–16 | 7–11 | 8th | |||||
| 2011–12 | Peter Cinella | 13–18 | 8–10 | 8th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Peter Cinella | 12–17 | 7–11 | 9th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Peter Cinella | 3–26 | 2–16 | 10th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Peter Cinella | 10–20 | 7–11 | 6th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Peter Cinella | 11–21 | 8–10 | 6th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Peter Cinella | 8–22 | 6–12 | T-7th | |||||
| 2017–18 | Peter Cinella | 15–15 | 7–11 | T-7th | |||||
| 2018–19 | Peter Cinella | 8–22 | 5–13 | 8th | |||||
| Peter Cinella: | 126–234 (.350) | 80–136 (.370) | |||||||
| Angelika Szumilo (2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Angelika Szumilo | 12-17 | 9-9 | 4th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Angelika Szumilo | 16-8 | 12-6 | 4th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Angelika Szumilo | 19-12 | 15-3 | 1st | WNIT First Round | ||||
| 2022–23 | Angelika Szumilo | 24–8 | 16–3 | 1st | WNIT First Round | ||||
| Angelika Szumilo: | 72–45 (.615) | 52–21 (.712) | |||||||
| Stephanie Gaitley (2023–present) | |||||||||
| 2023–24 | Stephanie Gaitley | 14-17 | 11-5 | 3rd | |||||
| 2024–25 | Stephanie Gaitley | 27-3 | 16-0 | 1st | |||||
| Total: | 396–581 (.405) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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Postseason results
NCAA Division I
The Knights have appeared in the NCAA tournament twice. They have a record of 0–1.
WNIT
The Knights have appeared in the Women's National Invitation Tournament twice. They have a record of 0–2.
