BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team has two games remaining in the regular season, and the final stretch will be crucial for the Blackbirds, with the Northeast Conference Tournament looming. LIU (9-18, 6-10 NEC) will travel to Connecticut to take on Sacred Heart (13-11, 10-6 NEC), Saturday, February 28 at 1 p.m., before hosting the Battle of Brooklyn against St. Francis Brooklyn (10-18, 7-9 NEC) in the Steinberg Wellness Center, Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. LIU is currently tied for sixth place in the NEC standings, with four different teams (FDU, Mount, Wagner and Saint Francis) all vying against the Blackbirds for the final three playoff spots. The final two games of the season will determine not only who makes the post-season tournament, but where each team will travel, as the highest seeds host each round.
Saturday's game at Sacred Heart will be a double-header with the men's teams, as the Pioneers and Blackbirds will tip-off at 3:30 p.m., in the regular season finale for the men.
BLACKBIRD BITS• The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team survived a close game Monday night in Knott Area, with the Blackbirds beating Mount St. Mary's, 48-45.
• Junior
Sophie Bhasin led LIU with 15 points, while senior
Letava Whippy had nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jolanna Ford also had eight rebounds in the win.
ALL-TIME SERIES• In a series that spans back to 1997, Sacred Heart has a slight advantage, 16-15.
• The two teams have been going back and forth, split evenly the last six seasons. Sacred Heart won two in the 2008-09 season, and then LIU won the lone game the two teams played in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Every season since then, the two teams have split the two match-ups, with each team getting a win and suffering a loss.
• In 2013-14, the Blackbirds won the first match-up of the year at home, before suffering a close 46-44 loss in Fairfield. In the LIU win, the Blackbirds rallied back from a halftime deficit for the first time that season to win, 62-54.
• When the two teams met in January, LIU survived a scare by Sacred Heart in the Steinberg Wellness Center, 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.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS• Sacred Heart enters the weekend having clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference tournament, and in fourth place overall at 13-11 on the season, and 10-6 in the NEC. Most recently, in a Wednesday make-up game, SHU survived a dramatic win over FDU, beating the Knights, 66-65, behind a 21-point effort from senior Gabrielle Washington.
• The Pioneers have the second-highest scoring offense in the league, averaging 69.2 points per game. They're also the hottest shooters in the league, as the team averages .424 from the field this season. SHU is second in assists, averaging 13.48 per game, and they have the lowest team assist/turnover ratio, at 0.87.
• Junior guard Hannah Kimmel sits at fifth in the NEC in scoring, and leads her team, averaging 16.6 points per game. She's also third in the NEC in rebounding, grabbing 8.8 per game.
• Senior guard Gabrielle Washington adds 13.4 points per game, while sophomore guard Adaysha Williams puts up 11.8 points per game. Senior point guard Katie Shepard is one of the top ball-handlers in the league, averaging 5.08 assists per game.
NEC PLAYOFF PICTURE• The regular season has just two games remaining, and five teams have clinched a berth in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament, with three more spots up for grabs.
• Bryant and CCSU are tied for first place, with identical 13-3 NEC records. Robert Morris sits in third place, at 12-4, while Sacred Heart clinched the four see with a win over FDU Wednesday, to improve to 10-6 in the NEC. St. Francis Brooklyn earned the fifth seed on Monday, and stand at 7-9 in the conference. The final three spots, however, are still up in the air.
• LIU and FDU currently sit tied for six place in the standings, at 6-10. But Mount St. Mary's, in eighth, and what would be final playoff spot, is just one game out, at 5-11. Below the Mountaineers, Wagner and Saint Francis U are also still in the hunt, with 4-12 records.
• Mount has a lot of the standings power, with two games this weekend. The Mountaineers take on Wagner and SFU, the two teams still threatening to qualify for the tournament. Mount beating both of those teams would secure a playoff bid, and help the Blackbirds secure one as well. Meanwhile, FDU has a tough final weekend of play, with Central Connecticut State and Sacred Heart on the docket. At this point, it's still anyone's game.