On Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m., there were three NCAA Division I women’s basketball teams that had yet to notch a win this season: the Valparaiso Beacons, the Niagara Purple Eagles and the Central Connecticut Blue Devils. By 3 p.m., there were only two.
In their penultimate home game of the season, the CCSU Blue Devils women’s basketball team achieved its first win of the season against the visiting Chicago State Cougars, with the final score of 86-75.
The game, which was Central’s 26th of the season, took place on the designated Senior Day to celebrate graduating players, including Northeast Conference standouts Lucia Noin and Kayla Henry.
CCSU’s most recent game against Chicago State was a decisive 75-69 loss in Illinois, and the team came into the game looking to turn its season around with only three games remaining after Saturday’s matchup.
Chicago State started the game with possession and took an early lead, holding an 8-2 advantage over the Blue Devils four minutes in. Central was able to keep the Cougars in check with points from Noin and Cierra Pearson, with the two teams ending the first quarter within a basket at 19-16 in favor of the visitors.
Kiyah Lewis kicked off the second quarter for CCSU with shots from all areas of the court, but the Cougars continued to keep up the same pace as the two teams remained almost equal on points for the rest of the second quarter. With contributions from Christa Ramos in the closing minutes, Central trailed by just a point at the half.
Noin was the first to score in the second half, and both teams swung momentum back and forth as four-point leads were traded by both sides. Noin again led the team on a run midway through the third quarter with added Ramos defense and Mia Toure buckets, but Chicago State continued to stay right on its heels, with both squads drawing multiple fouls in the latter portion of the quarter that contributed to the overall point total.
Up two points to begin the final quarter, and with a victory reasonably within grasp, the Blue Devils turned on the jets with Noin and Nicora Patrick leading the team in scoring. The defense from Central was finally able to stifle Chicago State halfway through the quarter, and added buckets from Lewis and Pearson brought the Blue Devils’ lead up to 10 points with only a handful of minutes of game time left.
Despite the Cougars’ best efforts to foul Central players to prevent higher scoring, the damage control was for naught, as the Blue Devils finally took their long-awaited first victory of the season by 11 points.
The victory was one of Central’s most effective games on the offensive side of the ball all season, with Lewis and Noin dropping 25 points each. Pearson and Patrick also contributed double-digit point totals, with Pearson being just a steal away from a double-double.
Both Lewis and Noin were pleased with the effort of each other and of the rest of the team in the victory. Lewis talked about her progression from the first to the second half and what that meant for the win.
“I just knew I had to be more aggressive and be more in the play, and I feel like once I did that, it was really beneficial for my team,” Lewis said.
Noin, who was one of four players to be honored pregame for her achievements with the team, agreed with Lewis about the team’s performance and mentioned that she didn’t feel any new specific pressure in her penultimate home appearance.
“I think every game we have pressure because of the win we wanted to get. We lost to them by four, so we really wanted to get this win,” Noin said. “There was pressure, but once we stepped on the court, it was gone.”
Noin also expanded on the general physicality of the game, as both sides pushed themselves to over 70 points each.
“There were many fouls, but we also ran a lot, so even if the game stopped, we didn’t feel it because we were both running up and down,” she said. “Both teams were getting points in transition, so I didn’t think it was a slow game or anything.”
Caruso, who took the coaching job last January, was relieved at the day’s outcome and emphasized that the team’s record wasn’t indicative of its talent level, noting how much turnover there was between rosters and how hard it had been for the new team to gel together.
“It takes some time, you just don’t get chemistry that way. It’s been tough, there were games we didn’t necessarily play together, but every game now we’re playing as a team,” she said. “We had 14 assists tonight, and when we do that, we do well. That’s been our focus all year. It’s just taken some time.”
Caruso also had high praise for Cierra Pearson in her performance.
“[Cierra] was defensive player of the year. I’m telling you right now, No. 11 is a good player,” she said. “She did a great job. Her teammates helped her and stepped up. I’m very excited for all my kids.”
Caruso was also surprised that Chicago State outshot them from the field but noted that it didn’t affect how the game was played.
“No, usually we’re on the high end. We have some really good players, but it was just a process. We have guys stepping up now and having confidence in our game,” she said. “It’s a good time to start playing well. March is here!”
The Blue Devil’s final home game of the regular season will take place Thursday, March 5, against the New Haven Chargers.
