Women's Basketball Season Ends in Loss at FDU in NEC Quarterfinals
The Central Connecticut women’s basketball team had its season come to a close in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Monday, falling at FDU, 74-48, in Hackensack, NJ. The 8th-seeded Blue Devils kept the game close through halftime before the top-seeded Knights held CCSU without a field goal in the first five minutes to build a 38-22 lead.
The Central Connecticut women's basketball team had its season come to a close in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Monday, falling at FDU, 74-48, in Hackensack, NJ. The 8th-seeded Blue Devils kept the game close through halftime before the top-seeded Knights held CCSU without a field goal in the first five minutes to build a 38-22 lead.
Belle Lanpher led three Blue Devils in double-figures with 16 points, while Meghan Kenefick had 12 points and Forever Toppin finished with 10 points. Lanpher added two assists, while Kenefick had four rebounds and Toppin added two steals.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 48, FDU 74
Records: #8 CCSU (7-22, 3-13 NEC), #1 FDU (23-6, 14-2 NEC
Location: Stratis Arena | Hackensack, NJ
KEY MOMENTS
- Central took an early 7-3 lead in the opening quarter after scoring five straight points and holding FDU scoreless for over three minutes. A three-pointer by Meghan Kenefick and a jumper by Forever Toppin put CCSU in front at the first media timeout, but the teams would be tied at 11 at the end of the quarter.
- FDU would hold the Blue Devils scoreless for over six minutes in the second quarter and closed the period on an 11-2 run to build a seven-point lead. A layup by Eniya Scott just before halftime made it 27-20 at the intermission.
- The Knights extended the run to 13 straight unanswered points into the third quarter. The run extended to 22-5 over a 11-minute span as FDU would limit CCSU to 1-of-16 shooting from the field in that span. A three-pointer by Ella Fajardo would push the Knights' margin to 16 points and forced a CCSU timeout. The Blue Devils were unable to get closer than 14 points the rest of the way..
NUMBER TO KNOW
16 – The Blue Devils were held to 16 points in the paint, while the Knights did most of their damage on the interior with 42 points.
QUOTABLE
"We got contributions from a lot of different people," head coach Kerri Reaves on something to take away from this game to look forward to. "Getting good minutes, good reps from a wide range of people, is probably something we wouldn't have seen at the beginning of the year. I hate to see it come to an end as we had some girls just getting it ready to go and getting productive minutes for us, but it gives us something very much to look forward to next season and in the offseason."
NOTES
- FDU has won five straight in the series and it is tied, 26-26, all-time in Division I meetings.
- Lanpher scored in double-figures in 16 out of 24 games played this season, including 12 of the last 15.
- The Blue Devils held the Knights to just 4-of-15 (26.7%) shooting in the first quarter, but FDU would shoot 17-of-26 (65.4%) after halftime.
- Alli Napoli had a team-high five rebounds for CCSU.
