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Brooklyn, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team looks to get back on the winning track on Saturday as it takes on Central Connecticut State at the Wellness Center. The Blackbirds enter with a 15-7 overall record, while the Blue Devils are one game under .500 at 10-11. The contest can be heard live over the internet via Red Zone Media, and live stats are also available through SideArm Sports.
Storylines
• The Blackbirds and Blue Devils are knotted for eighth place in the NEC with 4-6 records, one game behind a trio of teams for fifth place.
• LIU has scored 60 or more points on 15 occasions, winning all but one of those contests. The only time the Blackbirds have failed to come away victorious after scoring 60+ points was in a 71-65 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson.
• In contrast, the Blackbirds have failed to score 60 points eight times, and have dropped seven of those games. The lone win when scoring less than 60 points was a 58-50 win over Columbia.
• Senior Ashley Palmer scored four points in limited minutes against Robert Morris, after tweaking her ankle at Saint Francis (Pa.). The game broke a string of 20 straight games in which Palmer had reached double-figures.
Coming Soon
• The Blackbirds signed a pair of standouts to National Letters of Intent in the early signing period.
• Sophie Bhasin and Jahmia Phillips will join the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team in the fall of 2012.
• Bhasin is currently averaging 25.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 4.7 steals per game for Cajon (Calif.) High School.
• The 5-7 guard was recently named ESPN Cali-High Sports Athlete of the Week on Jan. 20.
• Phillips, a 6-3 post player out of the Chicago area, has helped lead Hillcrest High School to a 17-2 record this year, and had 11 rebounds in a recent win over traditional city power Proviso East.
Scouting Central Connecticut State
• The Blue Devils lost a heartbreaking contest to Monmouth, 59-56, in their last outing on Monday.
• After starting the NEC schedule 0-3, CCSU has won four of its last six conference contests.
• Kirsten Daamen, a 6-3 junior center, currently leads the NEC in blocked shots with 53 (2.5/gm.).
• Jaclyn Babe, a transfer for Duquesne University, leads the team at 15.4 points per contest.
LIU Brooklyn-Central Conn. St. History
• In a series that dates back to 1998, the Blackbirds lead the all-time series 14-10.
• The two teams split the home-and-home last year, with the road team winning each contest.
• Ashley Palmer averaged 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists over the two games for LIU Brooklyn.
• The loss to the Blue Devils at the Wellness Center on Feb. 26, 2011, snapped a seven-game winning streak.
Rewind: Robert Morris
• LIU held a 12-point lead (46-34) with 14:44 remaining in the second half against the Colonials but could not come away with a victory.
• The lost lead tied for the largest this season, with the 44-43 loss to Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 3.
• The Blackbirds shot just 28.6% from the field in the 2nd half, tying for the second-worst FG% in a half this season (at MSM - 24.0%).
• Robert Morris outrebounded the Blackbirds by nine (42-33), which accounted for the largest rebounding disadvantage in a single game all year.
Block Party
• Junior Ebony Davis has been a shot-blocking extraordinaire in her first season at LIU Brooklyn.
• The 6-0 forward has swatted 38 shots in 22 contests, ranking her sixth on the school's single-season list.
• Davis has come within one block on two separate occasions of tying the single-game record of five, which is held by three players.
• The St. Louis, Mo. native is nine blocks away from matching the single-season record of 47 blocks, held by Kim Colyer (1988-89).
Pledger Pours In Career High
• Senior She'tiarra Pledger was one of the few bright spots for LIU in the loss against St. Francis (Pa.).
• The senior guard tallied a career-best 17 points, to eclipse her prior mark of 12 set earlier this season against Cal Poly.
• The Kansas City, Kan. native added 12 points against Robert Morris two nights later, tying for team-high honors with Kiara Evans.
Record Setters
• A pair of seniors have made their way to the top of two all-time lists at LIU Brooklyn.
• Senior Ashley Palmer recently overtook Tamika Dudley for the school's all-time scoring record and now has 1,858 for her career.
• Palmer also stands at 939 rebounds for her career, good for fourth all-time. The all-time record is 1,039 by Jineea Butler (1993-97).
• The 5-10 forward ranks first in field goals made (737), second in free throws made (337) and with 14 field-goal attempts will become the all-time leader in that category.
• Senior Kiara Evans dished out six assists against Fairleigh Dickinson and now has 396 for her career, to eclipse Dudley's mark of 380.