Belle Lanpher Earns 2025 NEC Women's Basketball Player of the Year Honors
Becomes First Blue Devil In History To Garner The Award
Since her return to the hardwood in mid-December after missing the first ten games of the 2024-25 season due to injury, the word most used to describe Central Connecticut State guard Belle Lanpher's play is excellence. That excellence was recognized on Monday in a big way with the announcement of her selection as this season's Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year. She is the first Central Connecticut State women's basketball player in history to earn NEC Player of the Year honors.
Lanpher's exquisite all-around play was also celebrated with a selection to this year's NEC All-Defensive Team and the All-NEC First-Team.
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A four-time NEC NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow's Office Player of the Week this season, Lanpher leads the conference in scoring average at 22.6 points per game. She is averaging an even better 23.0 points per game in conference play. Belle has reached double figures in all 19 games she has played this season and a total of 22 straight outings dating back to last season. So far this season, she has surpassed the 20-point plateau in 13 games this season, including netting a career-high 37 points in a win at Wagner on January 11. So far this year, Lanpher is shooting 44.7 percent from the floor, 40.7 percent from three-point range and an eye-popping 89.2 percent from the free throw line.
Her selection along with CCSU's Jordan Jones being chosen as this season's Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year marks the sixth time in history that student-athletes from the same institution have been NEC Players of the Year honors in men's and women's basketball.
Her 430 points scored so far during the 2024-25 campaign are the tenth highest single season total in program history and have moved Lanpher into third place on the CCSU all-time women's basketball scoring list with 1,491 points.
She also leads the Blue Devils in rebounding at 5.7 boards per game (5.9 rpg. in NEC play) from her guard spot, plus she has chipped in an average of 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per outing.
Last season, Belle earned Second Team All-NEC accolades.
The third-seeded Blue Devils open the NEC Tournament against sixth-seeded Chicago State on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. in New Britain. Tickets are available online at CCSUBlueDevils.com/ccsutickets.
