BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team hosts Mount St. Mary's at the Barclays Center, this Saturday, January 17. The women's game will tip-off at 11:45 a.m., followed by the men against the Mountaineers at 2 p.m. LIU Brooklyn will also be celebrating Hall of Fame Day this Saturday, as LIU Athletics inducts the 2015 LIU Brooklyn Athletics Hall of Fame class, in a ceremony during halftime of the second game.
BLACKBIRD BITS• LIU survived a scare by Sacred Heart in the Steinberg Wellness Center Monday night, beating the Pioneers in overtime, 77-74. LIU led for most of the game, until the visiting team rallied to take the lead with just over five minutes left. The Blackbirds battled back, and senior
Letava Whippy, who had a career night with 21 points and 14 rebounds, scored a last second layup to send the game into overtime. The Blackbirds kept cool heads in the extra time, earning their first OT win of the season, and improving to 5-10 overall, 2-2 in the Northeast Conference.
• Senior
Letava Whippy scored a career-high 21 points in the win, going 9-for-11 from the field. She also had 14 rebounds and two assists.
• Bhasin was next for LIU, scoring 12 points, while junior
Brianna Farris went 3-for-4 from downtown to contribute nine points.
• Three Blackbirds contributed eight points each Monday:
Shanice Vaughan,
Paris Jones and
Drew Winter, while
Jolanna Ford had seven points and eight rebounds.
• The Blackbirds out rebounded SHU, 47-33
• It was the first time this season that LIU has trailed with 5:00 remaining, and come back to win the game.
ALL-TIME SERIES • Mount St. Mary's won the first 23 games versus LIU from 1990-2001. LIU then turned the tables, and won 17 of the next 21 meetings. The Mount has won the last four matchups entering Saturday's game, and leads the all-time series, 31-17.
• Last season, the Blackbirds were swept by the Mount. In the first meeting on the road, Jacqueline Brewer hit the game winning three-pointer with 8.8 seconds left to give the Mount a 63-62 win.
• In the return trip to Brooklyn, Mount took a 69-60 win at the Steinberg Wellness Center.
• Saturday will mark the the second time that the two teams have met at the Barclays Center. In 2013, LIU and MSM faced off in the first-ever collegiate women's basketball game to be played at Barclays Center. Mount took the win, 66-41 on Jan. 12, 2013.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS• Mount St. Mary's come into the weekend tied for second in the Northeast Conference. The Mount is 5-10 overall, 3-1 in the NEC, having won three straight games.
• After they dropped their NEC opener to Robert Morris, 66-44, the Mountaineers rallied to beat Wagner (60-58) and St. Francis Brooklyn (56-48). Last weekend, Mount knocked CCSU out of first place, with a 54-50 defeat of the Blue Devils.
• The Mountaineeres are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the conference, averaging just 54.3 points per game. But they're also one of the best free throw shooting teams, averaging .749 as a squad, second in the NEC.
• Senior guard Jaqueline Brewer is the team's go-to scorer, as she is averaging 12.4 points per game, along with 4.2 rebounds per game.
• Senior guard Jenn Carney is next on the team with 10.3 points per game, and she has a near-perfect record from the free throw line, as she leads the NEC with a .941 FT percentage.
• Junior center Sarafina Arthur-Williams is the team's top rebounder, grabbing 6.0 rebounds per game.