Box Score
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Junior Ebony Davis registered a school-record six blocked shots and spearheaded an impressive defensive effort in the second half as the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team downed Central Connecticut State, 57-43, on Saturday afternoon at the Wellness Center.
Davis, who also added 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals in an all-around effort off the bench, bested three former Blackbirds who tallied five blocks in one contest. The win improves LIU to 16-7 overall and 5-6 in the Northeast Conference, while CCSU falls to 10-12 and 4-7 in league play.
The first half saw the Blue Devils jump out to a six-point lead at 13-7 following a layup from Kaley Watras at the 12:18 mark. A three-pointer from Jaclyn Babe put CCSU in front 16-11 midway through the period, before a 16-4 run by LIU turned momentum in favor of the Blackbirds.
Junior Tamika Guz kickstarted the spurt with a layup, and scored again a minute later off a feed from senior Kiara Evans to give the home team its first lead of the contest at 17-16.
A short jumper from sophomore Cleandra Roberts pushed the lead to three, before Davis scored twice and senior Ashley Palmer hit two free throws to give the Blackbirds their largest lead of the period at 27-20.
The lead would remain the same margin going into halftime thanks to a buzzer-beating elbow jumper from freshman Letava Whippy. For the period, Davis had eight points and Guz added seven for LIU, while Watras led CCSU with eight points.
The Blackbird defense held Central Connecticut State to 35.7 percent in the opening stanza, but really turned up the heat in the second half. The visitors hit five of their first 10 shots of the period, but were held to just 3-for-19 shooting (15.8 percent) the rest of the way.
With the lead at three following a layup from CCSU's Lauren Arbogast, the Blackbirds scored five straight points to extend their cushion to 44-36 at the 8:42 mark of the second period.
The Blue Devils came out of a timeout and got a three-pointer from Jaclyn Babe to cut into LIU's lead, and Arbogast made the margin just three at 44-41 with 7:41 remaining.
But the Blackbirds would continue to grind CCSU down defensively, and got just enough offense down the stretch. Davis found senior Ashley Palmer for a layup to put the score at 46-41, and three free throws bumped the lead to eight at 49-41.
Central Connecticut State brought the ball up the court following one from the charity stripe from Davis, needing a score break LIU's momentum. The 6-0 forward, however, would have none of it as she swatted a layup attempt from Kirsten Daamen, then intercepted a pass from Watras on the same possession and went coast-to-coast for a fast-break layup to push the Blackbird lead to double-digits for the first time all contest.
After a jumper by Babe brought CCSU within single digits with 2:51 to go, LIU scored the final six points of the game to close out the win.
Palmer, the NEC's leading scorer coming into the contest at 18.3 points per game, had 12 points for the Blackbirds, while Guz added 11 points on 5-of-7 from the floor. Babe had a team-high 14 points and four steals while Daamen, the NEC's leader in blocked shots, had five for the Blue Devils.
LIU Brooklyn returns to action on Monday, Feb. 6 against Bryant at the Wellness Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.