Box Score
NEW BRITAIN, CONN. – The LIU Brooklyn basketball team made a second half comeback that saw the Blackbirds within six points of Central Connecticut State with just over two minutes to play, but the Blue Devils held on to take the win, 63-54.
With the loss, LIU is now 5-20 overall, 2-12 in Northeast Conference play, while CCSU improves to 13-12 overall, 7-7 in the NEC.
Central Connecticut took control of the game early, going on a 7-0 run to open up their first lead. Senior Krystal Wells kept LIU in play, scoring seven points in two minutes, to tie it up at 9-9 with 13:18 on the clock.
From there, however, the Blue Devils went on a 15-1 run to widen the lead to 24-10 at the five minute mark. LIU would cut the lead to eight points, but CCSU went on another 14-2 run in the final three minutes of the first half, to take a 38-19 lead into the break.
In the second half, Central stayed up, leading by as many as 21 points in the first ten minutes of play. The Blue Devils led, 58-37 with 8:27 on the clock, just as LIU began mounting its comeback. Over the next five minutes, LIU would hold the Blue Devils scoreless, going on a 15-0 run.
A jump shot by freshman Sophie Bhasin sparked the run at 8:16. Sophomore Honor Duvall made back-to-back layups, and freshman Jahmia Phillips scored her first collegiate points with a three-pointer at 4:01.
A layup by junior Cleandra Roberts 40 seconds later cut the lead to 10, and the Blackbirds were rolling. Duvall hit a jumper at 2:45 to make it 58-50, and 20 seconds later, Roberts drained two free throws to make it 58-52 with 2:27 left in the game.
But Central was able to connect on a fast break layup, and the Blue Devils then went a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line in the final minutes of play to solidify their lead, and take the win, 63-54.
CCSU's Kirsten Daamen led all scorers with 18 points, while Kaley Watras had 16 points, and Jessica Babe score 13 points to round out the Blue Devils' top scorers.
Senior Krystal Wells led LIU with 15 points, while junior Cleandra Roberts had 12 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Letava Whippy added eight points, five rebounds and three steals in the loss.
Up next for the Blackbirds is a matchup with Wagner. LIU will travel to Staten Island to take on the Hawks, Saturday, February 23rd at 1 p.m.