Women's Basketball Runs Away From Stonehill To Post An 84-68 Road Win

With the game tied at 20-20 after the first quarter, the Central Connecticut State University women's basketball team opened the second quarter on a 13-0 run over the first 4:11 of the stanza, and never looked backed, on their way to an impressive 84-68 road victory over the host Stonehill College Skyhawks on Saturday afternoon.  The triumph gives Central a three-game winning streak, as the team ups its Northeast Conference record to 8-5 and its overall mark to 9-17.  The loss, which snaps a four-game Stonehill winning streak, evens the Skyhawks season mark at 13-13; and they slip to 9-4 in conference play with two of those losses coming versus the Blue Devils.  Graduate student Belle Lanpher led CCSU with a game-high 35 points, just two off her career high.  She was joined in double-digit scoring by a pair teammates, freshman Dagny Slomack with 17 points and classmate Meghan Kenefick netted 13 points.  Lanpher also added four rebounds, plus three assists and three steals for the winners.  Senior Amaya Williams finished Saturday's game just one point shy of giving the winners a quartet of double-digit scorers as she had nine points on the afternoon.  Freshman Selina Monestime led Central in rebounding with eight boards.  Brooke Paquette led three Stonehill players in double figures with 18 points in a losing effort.

GAME INFORMATION |BOX SCORE

Score:  CCSU 84, Stonehill 68
Records: CCSU (9-17, 8-5 NEC), Stonehill (13-13, 9-4 NEC)
Location: Merkert Gymnasium |Easton, Mass.

KEY MOMENTS

• After Stonehill scored the first basket of the day 14 seconds into play, Meghan Kenefick tied things up for CCSU at 2-2 off an assist from Amaya Williams 16 seconds later.
• The two teams were tied at 20-20 after the first 10 minutes of action.  Belle Lanpher led the Blue Devils with nine points in the first quarter.
• Central raced out to 33-20 lead which they never relinquished, as CCSU opened the second quarter with a 13-0 run over the first 4:11 of the frame.
• The Blue Devils outscored the Skyhawks, 20-9, in the deciding second quarter to grab a 40-29 lead at halftime.  Belle Lanpher led Central with 18 first half points, and Selina Monestime pulled down a team-high five rebounds over the first 20 minutes of play.
• The hosts cut CCSU's lead down to seven points heading into the fourth quarter at 62-55, as Stonehill won the third quarter by a high-scoring 26-22 margin.
• The Blue Devils continued their fine offensive play in quarter number four, as they outscored the Skyhawks by a 22-13 margin to make Saturday's final score, 84-68 in favor of the CCSU.

NUMBER TO KNOW

21–A season-high in assists by the Blue Devils in Saturday's win at Stonehill

NOTES

• With her 35 points at Stonehill, Belle Lanpher has now scored a total of 1426 career points, which moves into the third place on CCSU's all-time scoring list.   Belle has reached double figures in all 16 games she has played this season and a total of 19 straight outings.  In 2024-25, she has eclipsed the 30-point mark in three outings.  So far this season, Lanpher is averaging 22.8 points per game.  On Saturday, she hit 11-of-19 field goals, including knocking down 6-of-8 from behind the three-point arc.  Lanpher also went 7-of-8 from the foul line.
• Dagny Slomack scored 12 of her 17 points in Saturday's victory in the second half.  Those 17 points are one off her career-high in scoring.  Dagny went 6-of-9 from the floor against the Skyhawks, including hitting 4-of-5 three-point shots.
• Saturday's 84 points are a season-high for the Blue Devils.
• Central scored 20 or more points in each quarter of a game for the first time this season on Saturday scoring 20 points in both the first and second quarters and 22 points in the third and fourth quarters,
• The Blue Devils dished off a season-high 21 assists on 29 made baskets versus the Skyhawks.
• Central shot an impressive 50.9 percent from the floor at Stonehill, as the Blue Devils hit 29-of-57 field goals.  The team also tied its season-high with 12 three-point shots made, as they finished with a season-high three-point percentage of 60.0 %, going 12-of-20 from downtown.
• Saturday's contest was a back-and-fourth affair in the first quarter with 10 ties and six lead changes.
• Central has now won four straight games versus Stonehill.
• CCSU turned 17 Stonehill turnovers into 20 points on Saturday,
• Saturday's game finished at a 31-31 stalemate in the battle of the boards.

UP NEXT

• The Blue Devils look to extend their winning streak to four games and clinch an NEC Championship Tournament Quarterfinal home game with a victory, when CCSU travels to Syracuse,  New York to close out its two-game road trip at LeMoyne College on Thursday, February 27.  Game time is slated for 6:00 p.m.