BROOKLYN, N.Y. - After four straight road games, the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team (6-14, 3-6 NEC) is coming home to roost Monday night. The Blackbirds will host the top team in the Northeast Conference, hosting Central Connecticut State (12-8, 8-1 NEC), Monday, February 2 at 7 p.m. in the Steinberg Wellness Center.
BLACKBIRD BITS• The Blackbirds will be looking to bounce back from two tough losses: an overtime 88-85 defeat at Braynt, and a low-scoring loss at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• LIU was held to one of its lowest scoring totals of the season Saturday afternoon, as St. Francis Brooklyn defeated the Blackbirds, 62-53 in the Pope Athletic Center in Brooklyn Heights. One of the toughest defensive teams in the Northeast Conference, the Terriers held the Blackbirds to their lowest point total in conference play this season, and lowest since early December.
• Junior
Jolanna Ford led LIU with 13 points, while senior
Letava Whippy added nine points and four rebounds.
• LIU had 23 points from the bench, including six from freshman
DeAngelique Waithe, and five from freshman
Paris Jones.
ALL-TIME SERIES • LIU Brooklyn holds the all-time series advantage over Central Connecticut State, 17-12. The Blackbirds swept the Blue Devils last season, but fell to CCSU 75-70 earlier this year.
• In the two teams' first game this season, LIU 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. Junior
Sophie Bhasin had 33 points in the Northeast Conference loss for LIU, just two points shy of her career best.
• Tejahne Malone led the Blue Devils with 19 points, while Amanda Harrington had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Aleah Epps had 15 points and eight rebounds.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS • Central Connecticut State continues to be the biggest story in Northeast Conference women's basketball so far this season. Picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll, the Blue Devils are 12-8 overall, and in sole possession first in the NEC, with an 8-1 record.
• Since playing the Blackbirds in mid-January, the Blue Devils have won five straight, including decisive wins over Wagner twice, 77-61, and 83-67. CCSU also beat St. Francis Brooklyn 51-49 last week.
• CCSU is one of the top defensive teams in the league, holding opponents to just 64.1 points per game. Offensively, they have the firepower, as they are third in the NEC in team field goal percentage, shooting 40.3 percent from the field as a squad, including 33.4 percent from long distance, another top average in the league.
• Junior forward Tejahne Malone leads the team with an average of 10.9 points per game, along with 6.9 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Camden Misgave and junior guard Kayla Miller add just over 8.0 points a game each.