November 21, 2023
Women's Basketball Defeats UMass Lowell in Home Opener
The Central Connecticut women's basketball team and Head Coach Way Veney earned their first victory of the season Tuesday night vs the UMass Lowell Riverhawks.
The Riverhawks were unable to stop the big second quarter from the Blue Devils where they shot 8-of-11 (.600) from the floor and outscored UMass 19-9 to lead 31-16 at halftime.
The Blue Devils had four players in double figures in back-to-back games.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 58, UMass Lowell 49
Records: CCSU (1-4), UMass Lowell (0-5)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT
KEY MOMENTS
- Central limited the River Hawks to just 2-of-14 shooting in the first quarter as they took an early 12-7 lead.
- CCSU went on a ten-to-four run in the first half with baskets from Watson, Williams, Lanpher, and a three-pointer from Kenefick that gave Central a 17-9 lead with 4:48 left to play in the first half.
- Another Meghan Kenefick triple followed by a Cierra Pearson three-ball gave the Blue Devils a fifteen-point lead going into halftime.
- UMass Lowell chipped away and brought their team within two with 3:23 left to play in the fourth quarter. A three-pointer from Leilani Rodriguez gave the Riverhawks a one-point lead that was quickly erased by Lanpher off a layup.
- Freshman Kayla Henry cashed in a wide-open layup off an offensive set Coach Way drew up out of a timeout. Samora Watson hit the dagger with 1:17 left to take a 51-47 lead and put CCSU in the driver's seat.
- Amaya Williams came up with a steal and made 7-of-8 free throws in the last 0:51 seconds to seal the deal for the Blue Devils and Coach Veney as they earned their first victory of the season.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 - Head Coach Way Veney earned her first victory as a Blue Devil and it happened at home in the Detrick gym.
NOTES
- Samora Watson led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
- Belle Lanpher tallied 11 points, three assists, and three steals, and has taken three charges in back-to-back games.
- Amaya Williams added 13 points with seven of the thirteen coming off free throws in the last minute of the game.
- As a team, the Blue Devils shot 50 percent from beyond the arch.
- The Blue Devils break a two-game losing streak to the Riverhawks with the win.
UP NEXT ...
The Blue Devils host Fairfield on Sunday, Nov 26th at 1:00 PM.
