Central Connecticut State University women’s basketball dropped a tough non-conference game against Fairfield University 78-52 at Detrick Gymnasium on Sunday, Nov 26.
The loss brings head coach Way Veney’s career record to 1-5.
The story of the game for the Blue Devils was their shooting struggles, they shot just 29% from the field and 17.4% from three-point range.
Veney attributed the shots not falling to questionable shot selection from her team.
“Our shot selection in the first half was not good, and it led to some easy points for them,” Veney said.
Senior Belle Lanpher took over after a slow first half, scoring 22 of her 24 points in the second half. She accounted for nearly half of Central’s points in the game.
Lanpher had an efficient night, shooting 9-17 from the floor, 2-7 from three, and a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line.
In addition to her stellar scoring performance, Lanpher led the Blue Devils with four assists and also had a rebound and a steal.
Lanpher’s value on the court extends past scoring and playmaking, as she is more than willing to take an offensive charge, dive for the ball, or make a hustle play.
“We really want to hone in on our defensive play. That’s what is going to keep us in games like this,” Lanpher said. “If we can hone in on defense, have good communication, make those hustle plays, we’re going to put ourselves in a better position to win games.”
Senior Meghan Kenefick impacted both ends of the floor, finishing with nine points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
Kenefick knew that being outrebounded 48-29 in the game contributed to the loss.
“We harp on rebounding every day in practice, and today it really hurt us,” Kenefick said. “They had a lot of offensive boards that led to putback points.”
Veney said her defensive goal was to hold Fairfield, a very good three-point shooting team, to five or fewer threes.
“Our emphasis was to hold them to five threes,” Veney said. “They average 12 and a half, and we held them to five threes, but we gave up too many points in the paint … They’re difficult to defend because everyone on the floor is an offensive threat.”
The Blue Devils will be back in action on Nov. 29 when they travel to face the University of Illinois.
