Blue Devils Held off at Penn State

The Central Connecticut Women's Basketball team battled with the Nittany Lions but were ultimately defeated in Wednesday morning's contest in Happy Valley. 

GAME INFORMATION

Score: CCSU 73, Penn State 101
Records: CCSU (2-10), PSU (9-3)
Location: Bryce Jordan Center | State College, PA

KEY MOMENTS

• Both CCSU and the Nittany Lions were scoreless until the 9:00 mark and a mid-range jumper by Meghan Kenefick at the 8:47 would tie the score 2-2.
• Penn State would follow with a 7-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Shay Ciezki that willed Penn State to a 9-2 lead.
• Central finished the last 3:16 without a field goal while Penn State made six three-pointers and shot 63 percent from the floor in the first quarter which gave The Nittany Lions a 32-12 lead after one. 
• Penn State's leading three-point shooter Shay Ciezki sank her second triple of quarter two with 4:22 to go and gave her team a 56-26 lead over Central Connecticut.
• The Blue Devils received baskets from Ally Sentance and Samora Watson near the end of the second quarter that cut into the deficit, but CCSU would head into the locker room trailing 59-32.
• Central started the third quarter on a 6-0 run with baskets from Kenefick, Lanpher, and Watson that forced a Penn State timeout where they led 59-38 with 8:32 in the third. 
• The Blue Devils would hang tough with the Nitnay Lions throughout the third quarter but were outscored 27-23 with 15 of Penn State's points coming from Shay Ciezki. 
• Ciezki continued her dominance for Penn State in the fourth quarter when she knocked down her third triple of the quarter and 8th of the game to give Penn State a 90-63 lead with 6:14 left in the contest. 
• A basket by Samora Watson with 2:27 left in the game gave her 28 points, but the Blue Devils trailed 97-71 and would eventually fall 101-73 in Wednesday afternoons Big Ten matchup. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW

74 - Central Connecticut came into the contest shooting 74 percent from the charity stripe as a team, good for second in the NEC. The team shot 78.6 (11-14) in Wednesday's matchup with Penn State. 

NOTES

• The all-time record between the Nittany Lions and the Blue Devils now stands at 3 games to none favoring Penn State. 
• Samora Watson was the Blue Devils leading scorer in the game with 28 points and led the team with nine rebounds on the afternoon. 
• Belle Lanpher added six assists and scored nine points on 4-of-9 shooting. 
• Kenefick came into the game averaging one three-pointer a game. She hit a triple in today's game vs Penn State and tallied a season-high 13 points. 

UP NEXT

Central Connecticut will travel to Morgan State for their last non-conference game on Wednesday, January 3rd.