Offensive Explosion Leads Blue Devils Through St. Francis Brooklyn On Senior Night

Trevi Alickolli, Sports Editor

The best offensive effort of the season led the Blue Devils to their second straight victory to close out the season and send their seniors off the right way against Northeast Conference opponent St. Francis Brooklyn. It was the first time all year that CCSU had won back-to-back games.

Women’s basketball scored a season-high 75 points against the Terriers and ended their season with a 4-25 record, 3-15 in the NEC.

In their last game as Blue Devils, Bruna Vila Artigues, Ashley Chin and Taylor Goode combined for 18 points and led the charge in a balanced attack for Central.

Interim head coach Kerri Reaves was impressed with the senior’s performances.

“The way they came out and played, it was a testament of who they’ve been for our program, they scored when we needed to score, they got a rebound when we needed a rebound, they were forever present on the bench, they’re leaders on [and off] the court so that kind of sums up their careers for us and they’re going to be greatly missed,” Reaves said.

This season has been a tough one for the Blue Devils but they pushed through and fought for this two-game winning streak to end their season, something that meant a lot to the seniors.

“It means a lot for them, they had everything to do with it,” Reaves said. “They deserve it, they worked really hard this season, they went through a lot this year and for them to come out and end the year with two straight wins, I think it’s great.”

“It’s good that we ended it on a W,” Vila said. “Everybody contributed, everyone was happy and I think that’s what really matters, after a tough season to end on a good note.”

“I’m proud of us, I mean we really struggled throughout the season so for all of us to come together and finally blow a team out by 20 points means a lot and it means a lot for us seniors,” Chin said. “Everyone contributed, played their part and gave us a win for our last game. It’s really special.”

The Blue Devils had 13 out of 14 players on the roster score against the Terriers.

Chin led the seniors with nine points, Vila scored five of her own while collecting three rebounds and dishing out four assists and Goode scored four points while also getting two steals.

The night was emotional for all seniors but it was especially emotional for Goode, who has dealt with some major injuries during her career at Central.

“For me, it was more excitement and nervousness because of my particular situation, I haven’t been playing a lot,” Goode said. “So I was just excited to get back out there and happy for us as a group that we made it through everything we’ve been through.”

Goode tore her ACL, sprained her MCL and tore both sides of her meniscus during her sophomore year and retore her meniscus when attempting to make a return to the court this season.

Ashley Berube and Dejah Jenkins were tied for the team-high with 11 points on senior night. Berube secured her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.

Reaves said she was happy with her teams’ performance to end the season.

“We always say stay positive and consistent,” Reaves said. “Today I think it was a combination of everything coming together at the right time. The bench was up, we passed the ball really well tonight and like I’ve said all year long, one through 14, we need contributions from all of them and I think we got it tonight.”

Ending their season with their first winning streak of the year, the Blue Devils can use this season as a learning tool and will now look to the future that appears to be bright.

“Learning from everything we went through this year, it will only make us stronger going forward,” Reaves said. “We can lean back on this year and realize we can get through pretty much anything, on and off the court.”