Seniors Carry Fairleigh Dickinson Past Sacred Heart on Championship Sunday at Howell Lanes 3/26/2017 Click here for Match-by-Match Scores Click here for NEC Tournament Bracket (PDF) Click here for Day 2 Video Highlights Click here for Championship Headquarters Howell, NJ - The 2017 Northeast Conference Tournament turned into Fairleigh Dickinson’s version of “The M & M Show.” Bookending the Knights’ lineup, seniors Morgan Brown and Melanie Hannon lifted their team out of the losers’ bracket and into the NEC championship photo. Locked in from the start of play on Sunday, FDU’s leadoff and anchor bowlers carried the Knights to a 4-to-2 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn in the morning’s elimination match. Then, with some help from their friends, the dynamic duo pushed Fairleigh Dickinson past top-seeded Sacred Heart in back-to-back best-of-seven baker matches to secure the program’s fourth-ever NEC Tournament crown. “Extremely clutch,” said FDU head coach Michael Lopresti when asked about the impact that Brown and Hannon had on Sunday. “Morgan Brown, more than what she performed as an athlete, just emotionally, inspiring the group, leading every huddle.” Brown, a second team all-NEC performer, threw 25 strikes and filled 35 of 36 frames that she bowled out of the leadoff spot on Sunday. “Then, Melanie on the bottom [of the lineup]. Come on!” exclaimed Lopresti appearing to be in a state of amazement. “She’s been doing it all year. Melanie has emerged as an elite anchor player. Doubles in the 10th when we needed it most.” Hannon struck 34 times in 57 attempts. Sunday’s first clash between FDU and Sacred Heart lasted only five games. The Knights won the first two and the last two with the middle contest ending in a tie after both anchors punched out the 10th frame. Following Fairleigh Dickinson’s 4.5-to-0.5 victory, the two sides battled again in a winner-take-all final and the drama at Howell Lanes reached a fever pitch. Like they did when the two rivals met on Saturday afternoon, an eventual 4-to-3 win for Sacred Heart, the Knights shot out to a 3-to-1 lead. With its back against the wall, Sacred Heart caught fire in Game 5. The Pioneers started the contest by throwing five consecutive strikes. Senior Sarah Rhodes doubled in the game while anchor Lauren Hoffman struck on her first three attempts and the result was a 243-224 win for SHU. Sacred Heart stayed hot in Game 6. Both Rhodes and Hoffman recorded strikes the first time through the order and 9-spares on the second go-round as the Pioneers posted a 236-225 win to force a deciding game. “Of course [I was thinking about what happened yesterday], I’m only human, right?” Lopresti said during a post-match interview on NEC Front Row. This time, however, FDU was able to stunt the Sacred Heart comeback bid. After only six pins separated the teams through three frames of Game 7, the Knights hit the accelerator and produced a string of three consecutive strikes courtesy of Karsyn Lukosius, Hannon and Brown. Having also struck on the first ball of the game, Brown logged her fourth double of the best-of-seven baker bout. Both SHU and FDU filled the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth frames, but the difference was the Knights’ high volumes of strikes. Fairleigh Dickinson registered four strikes during that five-frame run while Sacred Heart settled for four spares. Both teams failed to fill the ninth frame as FDU took a 17-pin lead into the 10th and Hannon hammered home the 199-169 victory with a first-ball strike. For the match, Hannon made a mark in all 14 of her frames and went 14-for-24 on strike attempts. Meanwhile, Brown fired 10 strikes in 14 attempts during the championship final.