Women's Basketball Set For Black Friday Mantinee With Bridgeport

The Central Connecticut State women's basketball team wraps up a two-game homestand in Detrick Gymnasium on Black Friday afternoon when the Blue Devils host the Purple Knights of the University of Bridgeport (0-6) in a non-conference contest. Central will be looking for its first win of the season, as the Blue Devils fell to 0-7 so far this year with an 87-50 home loss versus Siena on Tuesday afternoon.

LIVE STATS | WATCH |

TUESDAY AFTERNOON AGAINST SIENA:

•   A balanced scoring attack with five players reaching double-digit scoring led the visiting Siena College Saints to an 87-50 win over CCSU in Detrick Gymnasium on Tuesday afternoon.  Siena never trailed in Tuesday's game.
•    Freshman Selina Monestime led Central in scoring on Tuesday with 15 points for the second straight outing, and she was joined in double figures by classmate Dagny Slomack, who tied her career high with 12 points. Sophomore Kayla Henry led the Blue Devils in the rebounding for the second consecutive game with a career-best nine boards, and she was followed by Monestime and graduate student Meghan Kenefick, who each finished with six rebounds.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:

•    The University of Bridgeport Purple Knights are NCAA Division II members and play in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).  UB slipped to 0-6 so far this season with a 75-55 home loss against the Mercy University Mavericks on Tuesday night.  Sophomore Harmony Earth-Wiley led Bridgeport in scoring and rebounding on Tuesday with 16 points and nine boards.
•    Senior Shakira Hester leads the team both in scoring and rebounding through six games averaging 10.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per outing.
•    Junior Niyah Whitten is just behind Hester in scoring averaging 10.2 points per game.
•   As a team, UB is averaging 48.0 points and 37.0 rebounds per outing, and they are allowing the opposition 63.3 points per game plus opponents are pulling down an average of 41.3 rebounds per game.
•   The Purple Knights are led by head coach James Howard, who is in his second season as Bridgeport's head coach.  Last season, UB posted a 9-19 overall mark and an 8-8 conference record.  Prior to coming to the Park City, Howard served as head coach at Division I Georgetown University for six seasons.

THIS AND THAT:

•    CCSU's number two ranking in the Preseason Northeast Conference Coaches' Poll is the highest ranking in program history.
•    Graduate student Meghan Kenefick leads the team in scoring and is second on the squad in rebounding averaging 11.4 points and 5.1 boards per game.  Meghan also leads the team with a total of 14 assists.
•    Freshman Selina Monestime is next in scoring averaging in double figures at 11.1 points per game, and she is grabbing an average of 4.6 rebounds per game.  Monestime has led Blue Devils in scoring with 15 points in each of the last two contests.
•    Junior Alonna Sellers leads CCSU on the boards so far in 2024-25 averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.  Sellers is also averaging 8.0 points per outing. 
•    Freshman Dagny Slomack is averaging 9.7 points per game, as she has hit double digits in five games so far this season.  Slomack, who tied her career-high with 12 points against Siena on Tuesday, leads CCSU with 12 made three-point shots so far this season.
•     First-year classmates Selina Monestime and Dagny Slomack have reached double-digit scoring in five the Blue Devils' seven games so far this season.
•    Friday's matchup is contest number two of nine straight day games for the Blue Devils.  Central Connecticut's next scheduled night game is not until Thursday, January 9, 2025 when CCSU hosts LIU at 7:00 p.m. in Detrick Gymnasium.
•     Senior Amaya Williams is the only CCSU player to start every game so far this season.
•     Sophomore Kayla Henry has led Central on the glass in the team's last two games.  On Tuesday night, Henry grabbed a career-high nine boards.
•    As a team, the Blue Devils are averaging 55.7 points per game and allowing the opposition to score an average of 74.7 points per game.  On the glass, Central is pulling down an average of 32.2 rebounds per game; while the opposition is averaging 37.0 rebounds per contest.

UP NEXT:

•   Following the UB game, the Blue Devils head to the State of Ohio for a pair of post-Turkey Day contests taking on the University of Dayton on Sunday, December 1 at 1:00 p.m.; followed by a game at the University of Cincinnati on Tuesday, December 3 at 11:00 a.m.  Central returns to the friendly confines of Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday, December 7 when Morgan State comes to town for a 1:00 p.m. tilt.  Bridgeport is next in action at home on Tuesday, December 3 when the Purple Knights open conference play hosting Bloomfield College at 5:00 p.m. in Harvey Hubbell Gym.