NEW BRITAIN, CONN. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team led Central Connecticut State, 41-32 at halftime, but could not sustain momentum in the second stanza, losing to the Blue Devils in Detrick Gymnasium, 75-70, Monday night. Junior Sophie Bhasin had 33 points in the Northeast Conference loss for LIU, just two points shy of her career best.

With the loss, LIU falls to 5-12 overall, 2-4 in the NEC, while CCSU improves to 9-8, 5-1 in the NEC.

The game was close in the early going, with neither team able to build much of a lead. LIU would start to take over around the 11:30 mark, with a jumper from freshman Drew Winter, which put the Blackbirds up by five, 15-10. From there, LIU went on a 12-4 run, capped with a layup by freshman Stylz Sanders at 7:16 that gave the Blackbirds a 25-14 lead. LIU would hold on to that lead, using a layup by freshman DeAngwlique Waithe at 5:16 to take the widest lead of the day, 31-19.
CCSU would continue to fight, and a three pointer by Alleah Epps cut the lead to six points with 2:09 left in the half. But 30 seconds later, junior Sophie Bhasin went on a scoring spree. The guard exploded to score seven straight points in the final minute of play, giving the Blackbirds a 42-31 lead at the break.

Bhasin had 22 of her points in the first half, as LIU shot 45.7 percent from the field, and 40% from behind the arc, while CCSU struggled to make shots.
It was a tale of two halves, however, as the two teams traded shooting percentages in the second stanza. LIU shot just 30 percent in the second half, while CCSU hit 50 percent of shots taken.

Forward Amanda Harrington would make two quick baskets for CCSU in the start of the second half, but a three pointer by Bhasin, followed by a fast-break layup from junior Shanice Vaughan, and LIU was back up by 12, 48-36 with 18:15 to play.

The Blue Devils would continue to chip away at the lead, however. A layup at 14:34 cut the Blackbird lead to eight points, and just over a minute later, a three pointer by Kaley Watras cut the gap to just five points, 52-47. On the next play down the court, junior Jolanna Ford converted a traditional three point play to give LIU an eight point buffer, 55-47.

But the Blue Devils continued the battle, and with 9:57 on the clock, a fast-break jumper in the paint tied the score up, 55-55. Another CCSU steal and layup just 30 seconds later gave the home team the lead, 57-55, and LIU called a timeout. The two teams would battle back and forth for most of the rest of the half, as neither team led by more than one point. Just before the four minute media timeout, CCSU turned on the gas. Two quick layups gave the home team a 65-62 lead, and CCSU would hold that lead for the rest of the game.

Junior Brianna Farris gave LIU its last hope, when she drained a three with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to 73-70, but it was too little, too late, and CCSU would take the win, 75-70.

Up next, LIU takes on Fairleigh Dickinson, Saturday, January 24 at 2 p.m.

BLACKBIRD BITS
• Bhasin was 3-for-4 from long distance, and 10-for-12 from the free throw line.
• Jolanna Ford led LIU on the boards with 10 rebounds, along with six points
• Freshman Stylz Sanders and junior Brianna Farris each had seven points in the loss for LIU.