Women’s Basketball Pulls Off Fourth Straight Conference Win
The Blue Devils continued their resurgence on Monday night by defeating the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (9-16, 8-7) 71-69 at Rotman Center in Hackensack, N.J.
Central (16-9, 11-3) overcame a nine-point second half deficit to secure their first winning season since the 2000- 01.
Freshman Shontice Simmons led Central with 15 points while sophomore Justina Udenze put up her second consecutive double-double, pulling down 10 rebounds and scoring 12 points.
The Blue Devils lead by as many as eight points in the first half, but FDU chipped away at the CCSU lead before heading into the locker room with a two-point advantage.
Central trailed the Knights for most of the second half before they went on an 11-0 run that was capped off by a Udenze layup, giving them a two-point lead with 3:21 left in the game.
FDU managed to pull back in front but Central rallied again and gained the lead for good when sophomore Kerrianne Dugan nailed a three-point shot with 1:21 left in the game.
CCSU dominated the inside game against the Knights. The Blue Devils controlled the glass against, out-rebounding FDU 44-30 and they outscored the Knights in the paint 34-24.
Two other Blue Devils managed to tally double-digit points for the game. Sophomore Leanne Crockett put up 14 points and Gabrielle Ogelsby finished with 12.
The 16 wins are the most for the Blue Devils since the 1997-98 season when they tallied 17 victories and made their way to the semi-finals of the NEC tournament. The win is the Blue Devils fourth straight conference win.
The Blue Devils will take the court again this Saturday, Feb. 21 for Dr. Brenda Reilly Day at Detrick Gymnasium when they take on the St. Francis (N.Y.) Terriers at 4 p.m. Central with then host the conference leading Sacred Heart Pioneers on Monday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in Detrick Gymnasium.
-Peter Collin, Managing Editor: [email protected]