The Central Connecticut State University women’s basketball team is preparing to fast-break its way to the Northeast Conference Tournament.

With only two games remaining in the regular season, Head Coach Kerri Reaves said that although they hoped for more victories, the coaches and the players have seen improvement in the past couple of weeks. She said they are pleased with how their performance has been, especially with the addition of seven new players to the roster.

“I think we are somewhat pleased with how we’ve performed in the past couple of weeks,” Reaves said. “Of course, we would like to have had more victories, but where the team was three to four weeks ago, to where we are now, is night and day. I think we are finally coming together as a collective whole,” Reaves said.

Coach Reaves also said that after a tough loss, there are still positive actions that the team can take away from each game, and watching footage is a great way for the players to see those positive plays.

“Watching game film as well as practice film is a great teaching tool. Not for things we need to improve on necessarily, but things that we do very well,” Reaves said. “This generation is very quick to point out where they didn’t get something right and tend to overlook the great things that they do.”

With the regular season now dwindling, the Blue Devils have their eyes set on winning the NEC Conference Tournament and receiving an automatic bid to the women’s NCAA Tournament. Coach Reaves said that the team needs to focus on every detail so that they can be well-prepared.

“We need to out-rebound our opponents, we need to shoot 80% from the foul line, and we need to win each possession both on the offensive and defensive end of the court,” Reaves said. “Lastly, we need to be great teammates to each other. Being a student-athlete isn’t easy, everyone needs support, and we need to be there for one another.”

Up next for the Blue Devils is a road game against in-state rival Sacred Heart University on Saturday, Feb. 25, followed by a home game against Long Island University on Thursday, March 2, to wrap up the regular season.