November 29, 2023
Women's Basketball Defeated at Illinois
The Central Connecticut women's basketball team was unable to fight off Illinois and took the 89-50 loss on Wednesday night in Champagne Illinois.
GAME INFORMATION
FINAL SCORE: Illinois 89, CCSU 50
RECORDS: CCSU 1-6; Illinois 4-2
LOCATION: State Farm Center | Champaign, IL
KEY MOMENTS
- Meghan Kenefick started the Blue Devils' night with a triple and gave her team a 3-2 lead to start the game. The Fighting Illini went on a 16-0 run led by senior guard Adalia Mackenzie and took a commanding 18-3 lead with 1:55 left in the first quarter.
- Emma Bruen put an end to the 8:30 scoring drought with two free throws at the 1:30 mark in the first quarter.
- The Blue Devils started the second quarter with two baskets from Amaya Williams and a three-pointer from Belle Lanpher that cut the deficit to 24-12 at the 7:47 mark.
- Illinois went on a 13-6 run led by six-foot-two forward Kendall Bostic and the Blue Devils trailed 37-18 with 2:29 left to play in the half.
- Ciera Pearson came off the bench and made two straight baskets to cut the deficit to 37-23 with 0:44 left in the second quarter. A last-second three-ball from Illinois' leading scorer Genesis Bryant gave the Fighting Illini a 17-point lead into the half.
- Central shot 53.3% from the field and played even with Illinois in the second quarter, but the Blue Devils were outscored 24 to 13 in the third quarter to trail 64-33 at the end of the break.
- Illinois went 6-of-12 from the floor led by Kendall Bostic and Adalia Mckenzie who combined for 14 third-quarter points.
- CCSU trailed 64-38 after an Emma Bruen layup with 9:43 left to play, but a 10-0 Illinois run with triples from Makira Cook and Jada Peebles put the game out of reach for the Blue Devils as they trailed 74-38 with 6:35 left in the fourth.
- The Blue Devils finished the game on a 9-4 run with Ally Sentance scoring a layup at the buzzer to end the game with an 89-50 final.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
3 - Three Blue Devils scored their season-high in points (Emma Bruen, Amaya Williams, and Meghan Kenefick).
NOTES
- The Blue Devils were led by Meghan Kenefick with 14 points, the senior added two threes, and six rebounds for Central.
- Amaya Williams was 6-for-14 with a season-high 12 points followed by Emma Briuen with nine.
- This concluded the first matchup between CCSU and Illinois as the Fighting Illini now lead the series 1-0 with tonight's victory.
UP NEXT...
The Blue Devils travel to New Hampshire on December 2nd for a Saturday afternoon game at 1:00 PM
