Two-Game Road Trip To Pennsylvania On Tap For Women's Basketball

After closing out a three-game homestand with a 2-1 record, the Central Connecticut State women's basketball team (6-16, 5-4 NEC) hits the road for two games in Pennsylvania starting on Thursday evening in Erie against the Lakers of Mercyhurst University (8-14, 5-6 NEC) and then a tilt in Loretto on Saturday afternoon versus the Red Flash of Saint Francis University (9-14, 7-3 NEC).  In their last contest, the Blue Devils fell to conference-leading FDU, 61-52, in Detrick Gymnasium last Thursday afternoon.  Mercyhurst dropped a tight, 60-58, decision at LeMoyne on Saturday; while the Red Flash, who host Stonehill on Thursday, earned their third win in a row on Saturday with a 63-58 home triumph over Chicago State.

MERCYHURST LINKS:  LIVE STATS | WATCH |

SAINT FRANCIS LINKS:  LIVE STATS | WATCH |

CCSU won its first-ever meeting with Mercyhurst in women's basketball, 78-52, on January 4, 2025 in New Britain.  Saint Francis leads the all-time series between the two schools, 28-14.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST THURSDAY'S HOME GAME WITH FDU:

• CCSU went toe-to-toe with Northeast Conference leader, the Knights of FDU, in Detrick Gymnasium last Thursday night, as the two teams were tied 29-29 at the half, before the visitors pulled away over the final two periods to post a 61-52 win.  The game was a see-saw affair with a total of seven ties and 10 lead changes.  The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Blue Devils. For the seventh consecutive outing, graduate student Belle Lanpher led CCSU in scoring with 14 points.  She also pulled down a team-best eight rebounds and dished off four assists.  She was joined in double figures by Selina Monestime, who finished with 13 points and blocked four shots versus the Knights.  Amaya Williams fell just shy of giving the Blue Devils three double-digit scorers, as she finished with nine points.

THIS YEAR'S FIRST MEETING BETWEEN THE BLUE DEVILS AND LAKERS (1/4/25):

• Central Connecticut State led wire-to-wire, and the Blue Devils earned their first Northeast Conference win of the season snapping a six-game losing skid with an impressive 78-52 home win over the Mercyhurst.  CCSU used a balanced scoring attack and hot shooting to notch the victory, as five Blue Devils reached double-digit scoring led junior Lucia Noin with 19 points.  Noin also led Central with a game-high nine rebounds.  Amaya Williams with 14 points, Dagny Slomack and Megahn Kenefick with 13 points apiece plus Belle Lanpher with 11 points completed the Blue Devils' quintet of double-figure scorers.  As a team, CCSU connected on 50.9 percent of its field goals (50.95), including hitting 9-of-19 from beyond the three-point arc (47.4%).  The Blue Devils also went 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line in the victory.  Cici Hernandez led Mercyhurst with 19 points to tie Noin for game-high honors, and Bailey Kuhns also finished in double figures for the Lakers with 14 points.

THIS YEAR'S FIRST MEETING BETWEEN CCSU AND SAINT FRANCIS (1/2/25):

• The Central Connecticut State women's basketball team opened Northeast Conference play with a 79-63 loss against the visiting Red Flash of Saint Francis University.   The Red Flash shot a season-best 58.6 percent from the floor, as they connected on 34-of-58 field goals, and they dominated play inside, as 46 of their points came from within the paint.  Amaya Williams led the Blue Devils with a career-high 17 points off the Central bench, and she was joined in double figures by Belle Lanpher with 12 points.  Saint Francis' Natalie Johnson led all scorers in the game with 20 points, as she hit 8-of-9 field goals, including going 4-of-5 from behind the three-point arc.  Teammate Jade Campbell finished with a double-double of 19 points and a game-best 11 rebounds, and Yanessa Boyd gave the winners a trio of double-digit scorers with 10 points.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS:

•    The Lakers of Mercyhurst University, located in Erie, Pennsylvania,  are in their first season of playing at the NCAA Division 1 level and in the Northeast Conference, as the institution transitions form the NCAA Division II level and the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference.  Mercyhurst (8-14, 5-6 NEC) has won four of its last six games after splitting its last two outings, winning, 76-69, in overtime against Chicago State at home on February 6 and falling at LeMoyne on Saturday, 60-58.
•    Mercyhurst was slotted in an eighth place tie with fellow conference newcomer Chicago State in this year's preseason NEC Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll.
•    Junior Bailey Kuhns leads the team in scoring and is tied for the squad lead in rebounding averaging 19.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.  She is joined in double figures by classmate Jenna Van Schaik who is averaging 13.9 points per outing.  Senior Allyson Ross is averaging 8.8 points and is tied with Kuhns in rebounding averaging 5.0 boards per game.
•   As a team, the Lakers are averaging 64.5 points and 31.6 rebounds per contest, and they are allowing the opposition 66.7 points per game plus opponents are pulling down an average of 35.1 rebounds per game.
•   Mercyhurst is led by head coach Brooklyn Kohlheim, who is in her sixth season as the Lakers' leader. 

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH:

•    The Red Flash of Saint Francis (Pa.) University come into this week's action, hosting Stonehill on Thursday and CCSU on Saturday, on a three-game winning streak with a 9-14 overall record and a 7-3 conference mark.  Saint Francis' three wins in a row have come at the expense of Wagner, LeMoyne and Chicago State.
•    Saint Francis was slotted number five in this year's preseason NEC Coaches' Poll.
•    Junior Natalie Johnson leads the team  in scoring at 9.3 ppg., and she is followed by sophomore Yanesssa Boyd at 7.5 points per outing.  Freshman Airah Lavy is third in scoring averaging 6.8 points per game.  Lavy has made a total of 45 field goals so far this season, and only two of those have come from inside the three-point arc.
•   As a team, the Red Flash are averaging 54.1 points and 35.1 rebounds per contest, and they are allowing the opposition 66.0 points per game plus opponents are pulling down an average of 34.4 rebounds per game.
•   Saint Francis is led by head coach Keila Whittington, who is in her sixth season as the bench boss in Loretto. 

THIS AND THAT:

•   CCSU's number two ranking in the Preseason Northeast Conference Coaches' Poll is the highest ranking in program history.
•  With her 14 points on Thursday, Belle Lanpher has now scored a total of 1328 career points heading into Thursday's action. Lanpher is now 83 points away from moving into the third slot on CCSU's all-time scoring list.   Belle has reached double figures in all 12 games she has played this season and a total of 14 straight outings.  So far in 2024-25, Lanpher is averaging 22.3 points per game.
•   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
•   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 has now reached double-digit scoring in eight games with her 13 point performance last Thursday versus FDU.   Monestime is averaging 7.9 points per game so far this season.
•  Graduate student Meghan Kenefick is third on the Blue Devils in scoring averaging 8.4 points per game, and she has grabbed 5.5 rebounds per outing (6.7 rpg. in NEC play).  Kenefick has now pulled down a total of 552 rebounds for her career.
•   As a team, the Blue Devils are averaging 58.2 points per game and allowing the opposition to score an average of 66.5 points per outing.  On the glass, Central is pulling down an average of 35.6 rebounds per game; while the opposition is averaging 38.7 rebounds per contest.  Central has outrebounded its opponents in six of its last eight games.
•   Central is looking for its second road win of the year.  CCSU lone win away from the Nutmeg State this season came on January 11 at Wagner, 62-55.

UP NEXT:

•   The Blue Devils are back in Detrick Gymnasium on Thursday, February 20 when the Cougars of Chicago State University come to New Britain.  Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.  Mercyhurst hosts Stonehill this Saturday at 1:00 p.m., and after entertaining CCSU on Saturday, Saint Francis hosts Mercyhurst on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.