Box Score
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BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team dropped its third straight Northeast Conference game Saturday afternoon in the Barclays Center, as the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers beat the Blackbirds, 69-48. St. Francis, ranked No.25 in CollegeInsiders.com Mid Major Poll, improved to 11-3 overall, 3-0 in the NEC, while LIU drops to 2-12 overall, 0-3 in the NEC.
Senior Cleandra Roberts led all players in scoring in the game, as she hit a career-high with 27 points, along with six rebounds. But she was the only Blackbird with serious production, as LIU shot 31 percent from the field in the loss.
The game started on an even keel, with neither team scoring for the first three minutes of play. Roberts hit back-to-back layups in the span of a minute, to give LIU the early lead, 4-0 at 16:54. St. Francis tied it up two minutes later, but the two teams would stay close. A jumper from junior Letava Whippy at 13:27 made it 8-7 for SFC, but then the Terriers went on a run. St. Francis scored seven unanswered points over the span of two minutes, and took a 14-8 lead with 11:33 to play. But the Blackbirds matched the Terriers basket for basket for most of the half, including a jumper by Roberts at 3:43 that cut the Terrier lead to 27-24. The visiting team outscored LIU 10-2 in the final two minutes of the half, however, taking a 37-26 lead into the break.
The second half saw the two teams go point-for-point in the early going, but with St. Francis's first half lead built up, the Terriers started to distance themselves in the second half. SFC would put together another 7-0 run late in the second half, which gave them the widest lead of the game, 64-42 with 4:40 to play.
The Blackbirds wouldn't give up, playing until the very end, but they couldn't overcome St. Francis' strong shooting. The Terriers shot 54 percent from the field, taking the win, 69-48.
Senior Cleandra Roberts was 11-for-21 from the field, leading all players with 27 points. She also grabbed six rebounds and had two blocks in the loss. LIU senior Fanny Cavallo led all players with nine rebounds, while freshman Demi Tomlinson added eight points, and junior Letava Whippy had four points and six rebounds.
Up next, the Blackbirds return to the Steinberg Center for the first time since November, as they host Central Connecticut State, Monday, January 13 at 7 p.m.