A six-game losing streak came to an end for the Central women’s basketball team on Saturday after defeating conference rivals Mercyhurst University 78-52 at home. It was the team’s second win of the season and first in Northeast Conference play.
“It really was a collective effort,” Head Coach Way Veney said. “I’ve been looking for my team to play a lot harder than we have been, and today, I feel like we saw that. We saw a lot of energy. We saw a lot of effort.”
After a 79-63 loss to Saint Francis University on Thursday, the Blue Devils looked to bounce back and avoid an 0-2 start in conference play. Veney emphasized the need for defensive improvement heading into Saturday’s matchup against Mercyhurst.
“Wins and losses are started on the defensive end,” Veney said. “I was disappointed with our effort the last game. Saint Francis averages 48 points and we gave them almost 80. So I really challenged my team to come out with a different level of defensive effort, and I feel like we did that today.”
It was a balanced scoring display by the Blue Devils as five players reached double digits. Junior forward Lucia Noin led the way, tallying 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Senior guard Amaya Williams added 14 points and 4 rebounds, while freshman guard Dagny Slomack and graduate forward Meghan Kenefick chipped in 13 points apiece.
Noin credited her strong performance to the sense of responsibility she felt after being named a starter for only the fourth time this season.
“I feel like I went out there with confidence,” Noin said. “Because coach started me, I knew it was important for me to perform well from the beginning, and so that’s what I did. I went out there with confidence and it went well. So I’m happy about it.”
The Blue Devils set the tone of the game early, going on a 10-1 run in the first five minutes.
Noin scored 8 points in the first quarter to help Central take a 24-8 into the second period.
Kenefick opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, extending the Blue Devils’ lead to 19. With just over six minutes left in the half, Central pushed its advantage to 23 points. Mercyhurst responded with a 16-7 run, cutting the lead to 14 at halftime, 40-26.
Despite Mercyhurst’s late push, the first half belonged to Central. The Blue Devils shot 54.2% from the field and 50% from three-point range, while holding the Lakers to just 34.6% overall and 27.3% from beyond the arc. Noin led all scorers in the half with 15 points, followed by Slomack with 10.
Central came out in the second half much like it started the game — on a scoring run. A 9-3 surge pushed the Blue Devils’ lead back up to 20 points, 49-29, prompting the Lakers to call a timeout just four minutes into the third quarter. The break did little to slow Central, which proceeded to score another 9 unanswered points.
The Blue Devils outscored Mercyhurst 22-8 in the third quarter, taking a 62-34 lead going into the final period.
Central took its largest lead of the game just over two minutes into the fourth quarter after graduate guard Belle Lanpher’s layup pushed the Blue Devils’ advantage to 35 points, 69-34.
With less than three minutes to play, Kenefick reached a career milestone, collecting her 500th career rebound off an offensive board. Despite a tough outing against Saint Francis in her last game, she finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds off the bench against the Lakers.
Reflecting on her achievement, Kenefick admitted she wasn’t even aware of it at the time.
“Honestly, I had no idea,” she said, laughing. “Everybody came out to me after the game. It’s a good feeling, but the most important thing was the win.”
Veney said that she made the decision to bring Kenefick off the bench to motivate her and reignite her intensity.
“Meg should be proud of herself. I think that that’s something that we’ve been missing from her, and I think that that’s something that I’ve challenged her to do,” Veney said. “She was a completely different player today and she rubs off on everybody else. I think me putting her on the bench, I think that jump-started her a little bit, and she got a little bit angry about it and that’s what we needed. It was a big difference in our win today.”
The Blue Devils cruised to a 78-52 victory. They shot 50.9% from the field and 47.4% from three, while holding the Lakers to an abysmal 32.7% from the floor and 28.6% from beyond the arc.
Central’s dominance down low in the paint was evident as they outscored Mercyhurst 36-18. The Blue Devils were pests on defense, recording 8 steals while the Lakers had just 3. Central also won the rebounding battle, 34-27.
Veney highlighted the importance of the victory in boosting the team’s mentality going forward.
“We needed it,” she said. “I think that we had a lack of confidence. We really didn’t believe in ourselves, and I think anytime you can win, you know that you’re capable of it. It’s not that this team isn’t talented, it’s that we haven’t been doing what we needed to do to win the game, and that starts with our effort.”
With the victory, the Blue Devils improved to 1-1 in conference play and 2-13 overall this season. They will play their final game of a three-game homestand on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Long Island University before hitting the road for their next three contests.
