By Christopher McLaughlin
The CCSU women’s basketball team was able to rebound from a loss against Long Island University and pick up its first conference win of the season defeating St. Francis (N.Y.) 53-33.
While the Blue Devils offense took a while to get going, CCSU (8-7, 1-4 NEC) was able to pour it on in the second half scoring 35 points. Leanne Crockett led the way for the Blue Devils posting a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The win over St. Francis (2-13, 0-5 NEC) came right after a loss to NEC rival LIU and was a must win for the Blue Devils.
“It’s always a good feeling to get that first conference win,” said Head Coach Beryl Piper. “We have to build on it. We have two tough teams coming up, and both games are away, so this win was important to get our confidence up.”
The Blue Devils got out to a hot start jumping out to a 12-2 lead, but had difficulty scoring the rest of the half. The first half ended up being even between the two teams. CCSU shot slightly better and scored three more points but every other category was virtually a wash. St. Francis’ Jasmin Robinson led all scorers in the first with seven points, while CCSU had three players with four points leading the way.
“In the first half we were everywhere, and that was a concern for us,” said Piper. “We did a good job on defense but struggled on offense.”
While CCSU went into half time struggling on offense, the team exploded out of the gate in the second half. The Blue Devils matched its first half total in less than 10 minutes as the whole team came to life. CCSU began the half with a 7-0 run, increasing the lead to 10, and never looked back. While the Blue Devils had its way offensively, the defense the team played was just as effective. St. Francis struggled to score, and the 7-0 run turned into a 22-7 run, as the Blue Devils blew the game open.
“The run to start the half was huge,” said Piper. “It let us get confidence after a tough loss that really affected us.”
The loss to LIU stung hard, and the Blue Devils held a team meeting afterwards in an effort to move on.
“We had a team meeting after the loss, but it was the clinic we held on Sunday that really helped us break the ice,” said Piper. “We held a clinic for the kids and getting the girls out there really helped them out.”
Looking to avoid another loss like the one to LIU, the Blue Devils kept up its dominance throughout the second half. Even after being sent to the foul line 16 times St. Francis was unable to get back into the game. During the final minute CCSU brought their lead up to 20 where it stayed for the remainder of the game.
“The first half was a little crazy, but in the second half we were able to push the ball and stay under control,” said Piper.
Crockett had a monster second half with 10 points and 8 rebounds, knocking down a couple of three-pointers that helped get the Blue Devils going. CCSU also got another solid performance out of Kerianne Dugan, who was second in scoring with 10 points, but also received a big lift from Jameilia Dillon, who came off the bench filling in for Justina Udenzi. Dillon finished with 8 points and hustled hard for four rebounds and showed off the depth that Piper’s team has.
“I can’t say enough about Crockett,” said Piper. “She consistently does good on the glass, she is so strong and always gets key rebounds. Jameilia also came in a did a really nice job for us”
CCSU will return home on Jan. 22 when both the women and men will take on Fairleigh Dickinson.