Women's Basketball Welcomes NEC Leader FDU On Thursday

The Central Connecticut State women's basketball team (6-15, 5-3 NEC), winners of two games in a row and five of their last seven outings, close out a three-game homestand on Thursday when CCSU hosts the top team in the Northeast Conference, the Knights of FDU (17-3, 7-0 NEC).  In their last contest, the Blue Devils staged a furious second half comeback to defeat the Stonehill College Skyhawks, 71-59, in Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Knights defeated Mercyhurst, 75-45, at home on Saturday for the squad's tenth consecutive win.

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FDU has won the last eight meetings between the two teams, and that streak gives the Knights a 19-17 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, FDU won at home in overtime, 80-75, on January 25, 2024, and the Knights posted a 70-56 victory in New Britain on March 7, 2024.  CCSU's last win in the series was a 77-56 triumph in Connecticut on December 20, 2020.  The Knights topped CSSU, 75-58, on January 18 in New Jersey in this season's first meeting between the two squads.

A LOOK BACK AT SATURDAY'S COMEBACK WIN OVER STONEHILL:

• Trailing by five points, 48-43, entering the fourth quarter, the Central Connecticut State women's basketball team exploded on offense in the fourth quarter, outscoring the visiting Stonehill College Shyhawks, 28-11, to post a 71-59 comeback Northeast Conference victory in Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.  Graduate student guard Belle Lanpher led all scorers in the game with 26 points.  She was joined in double figures by red-shirt, freshman Selina Monestime with 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half to help spearhead her team's comeback and senior Amaya Williams chipped in 11 points for the winners.  Monestime led CCSU on the boards with six rebounds, and freshman Jessica Farrell pulled five rebounds for the Blue Devils.  

THIS YEAR'S FIRST MEETING BETWEEN THE BLUE DEVILS AND KNIGHTS (1/18/25):

• CCSU saw a three-game winning streak come to an end when the host FDU Knights scored the first six points of the game and never looked back on their way to a 75-58 Northeast Conference win in New Jersey on Janaury 18.  Central graduate student guard Belle Lanpher had a fine game in the first meeting between the two teams this season, as she surpassed the 30-point mark for the second straight outing netting a game-high 31 points after scoring a career-high 37 at Wagner in the previous game.  She also grabbed five rebounds and added one assist at FDU.  Sophomore Kayla Henry had an excellent game at FDU scoring a career-high 12 points and just missing a double-double, as she tied her career-high with a game-best nine rebounds.   Ava Renninger led four players in double figures for the winners with 17 points, and pulled down a team-leading six boards for the Knights.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:

•    The FDU Knights come into Thursday's contest red-hot on a 10-game winning streak with a 17-3 overall record and a perfect 7-0 Northeast Conference mark.  The Knights are an unblemished 10-0 so far during the 2024-25 season on their home court at the Bogota Savings Bank Center, and they are 7-3 on the road.
•    FDU was slotted in first place in this year's preseason NEC Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll.
•    Freshman Ava Renninger, who shared this week NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow's Office Player of the Week award the CCSU's Belle Lanpher and was also selected as this week's NEC Rookie of the Week, leads the team in scoring average at 14.2 points per game.  Graduate student Teneisia Brown is second on the Knights in scoring so far this season averaging 13.1 points per game, and freshman Abaigael Babore gives FDU a trio of double-digit scorers averaging 10.3 points per outing.  Teneisia Brown also leads FDU on the boards pulling down an average of 8.7 rebounds per game.
•   As a team, the Knights are averaging 66.6 points and 37.3 rebounds per contest, and they are allowing the opposition 57.9 points per game plus opponents are pulling down an average of 34.2 rebounds per game.
•   FDU is led by veteran head coach Stephanie Gaitley, who is in her second season as the Knights' bench boss.  Gaitley entered this year as the 12th winningest active coach in Davison I women's basketball with 684 victories.  Last year, the team went 15-17 overall and 11-5 in Northeast Conference play.   FDU fell to LeMoyne in last season's NEC Championship Tournament semifinal.

THIS AND THAT:

•   CCSU's number two ranking in the Preseason Northeast Conference Coaches' Poll is the highest ranking in program history.
•  With her game-high 26 points in Saturday's win, graduate student Belle Lanpher has moved into fourth place on CCSU's all-time women's basketball scoring list. She has a total of 1314 career points heading into next Thursday's game versus FDU. Lanpher is now 97 points away from moving into the third slot on CCSU's all-time scoring list.   Belle has reached double figures in all 11 games she has played this season and a total of 13 straight outings dating back to last season, and she has topped the 20-point plateau in six consecutive outings.   So far in 2024-25, Lanpher is averaging 23.0 points per game. She received her third NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow's Office Player of the Week honor of this season on Monday, as she shared the award with FDU's Ava Renninger.
•   CCSU's Top Four All-Time Women's Basketball Career Scorers: 1-Hope Linthicum (1982-87), 1,773 points, 2-Gabriella Guegbelet (2003-07), 1,700 points, 3-Kiana Patterson (2015-19), 1,410 points, 4-Belle Lanpher (2020-present), 1,314 points
•   Central committed a season low seven turnovers in Saturday's win over Stonehill after committing on eight miscues in the previous outing versus LeMoyne.  Central also blocked a season-best eight shot against Stonehill, and they made 12 steals against the Skyhawks which is their second highest total of the year behind 17 thefts versus Bridgeport on November 29, 2024.
•   Freshman Dagny Slomack, who has reached double figures in 10 games so far this season, is second on this season's CCSU scoring list averaging 8.7 points per game.
•   Classmate Selina Monestime, who scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half against Stonehill, was recognized for her fine play, as she also pulled down a team-best six rebounds in the win, with an NEC Prime Performer nod this week.
•  Graduate student Meghan Kenefick is next in scoring averaging 8.6 points per game, and she has grabbed 5.5 rebounds per outing (6.8 rpg. in NEC play).  Kenefick has now pulled down a total of 546 rebounds for her career.
•   As a team, the Blue Devils are averaging 58.5 points per game and allowing the opposition to score an average of 66.8 points per outing.  On the glass, Central is pulling down an average of 36.0 rebounds per game; while the opposition is averaging 38.5 rebounds per contest.  Central has outrebounded its opponents in six of its last seven games.

UP NEXT:

•   The Blue Devils hit the road for a two-game trip to Pennsylvania beginning next Thursday, February 13 at Mercyhurst.  Game time is in Erie, Pa. for 6:00 p.m. FDU travels to Wagner on Saturday, February 8 for a 4:00 p.m. clash on Staten Island.