BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team (9-19, 6-11 Northeast Conference) hosts St. Francis Brooklyn (11-18, 8-9 NEC) in the 22nd annual Battle of Brooklyn Monday, March 2. The two teams will face off in the Steinberg Wellness Center with the borough's bragging rights on the line. The Terriers will be looking to win their third-straight Battle of Brooklyn title, while the Blackbirds will be looking to hoist the trophy for the first time since 2012.
Also at stake Monday night? Playoff seedings. LIU clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference tournament for the second straight season, but are currently in a three-way tie for sixth place. Monday night's games around the league will determine the final seedings, and who will face off in the first round next weekend.
BLACKBIRD BITS• Most recently, LIU suffered a rough overtime loss on the road. When the Sacred Heart and LIU Brooklyn women's basketball teams first met in January, the game was an overtime thriller that saw the Blackbirds take a big win in Brooklyn. The second match-up of the year followed the same pattern, but this time, it was the Pioneers who came out on top. LIU fell to Sacred Heart in overtime Saturday afternoon in the William H. Pitt Center, 78-71. Sacred Heart junior Hannah Kimmel had 10 of her 24 points in the overtime period to propel the Pioneers to victory.
• The game was a close one throughout, as neither team ever led by more than nine points, and the lead changed hands 15 times
• Junior
Sophie Bhasin led LIU's scoring with 19 points, along with a game-high six steals and a team-high four assists. Junior
Brianna Farris added ten points, going 4-for-5 from the field. Senior
Letava Whippy had nine points, nine rebounds and four steals, while
Shanovia Dove added nine points and seven rebounds.
ALL-TIME SERIES• This is the 72nd time that the two Brooklyn teams have met on a women's basketball court, and the 22nd annual Battle of Brooklyn LIU holds the all-time advantage, 47-24 in the series, and 12-9 in "Battle of Brooklyn" games. But recent history is on the side of the Terriers. SFBK has won the last five match-ups between the two squads, including both in the 2013-14 season, and when the two teams met in January.
• The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team was held to one of its lowest scoring totals of the season, as St. Francis Brooklyn defeated the Blackbirds, 62-53 in the Pope Athletic Center in January. One of the toughest defensive teams in the Northeast Conference, the Terriers held the Blackbirds to what was then their lowest point total in conference play this season.
• Junior
Jolanna Ford led LIU with 13 points, while senior
Letava Whippy added nine points and four rebounds.
• St. Francis's Sarah Bennedetti led all players with 22 points, while forward Jaymee Veney had 21 points for the Terriers.
• LIU had 23 points from the bench, including six from freshman
DeAngelique Waithe, and five from freshman
Paris Jones.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS• St. Francis Brooklyn, at 11-18 overall and 8-9 in the NEC, has locked up the No.5 seed in the post-season tournament, and will take on No.4 seed Sacred Heart March 8. The Terriers are coming off a huge win from Saturday, when SFBK beat one of the top teams in the league, Bryant, 62-52.
• SFBK is one of the top defensive team in the league, holding opponents to just 60.4 points per game. They also come into Monday's matchup with the best free throw percentage in the league, hitting 76.2 percent of their shots from the line.
• Four of the five Terrier starters average over 10.0 points per game. Senior forward Jaymee Veney leads the team with 14.3 points per game and 7.9 points per game. Senior forward Sarah Benedetti is next on the team, adding 13.4 points per game.
• Senior guard Eilidh Simpson averages 12.0 points per game, and is the top free throw shooter in the NEC, hitting 87 percent of her shots. Junior guard Leah Fechko rounds out the big scorers, with 10.0 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game. She's a hot shooter from the field, as she is third in the NEC with a 47.4 percent shooting percentage.
NEC PLAYOFF PICTURE• The regular season has just one game remaining, and all eight spots in the in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament have been clinched. Most of the seeding is still to be determined, however.
• CCSU has clinched sole possesion of first place, with a 14-3 NEC record, and will host for the duration of the tournament. Bryant and Robert Morris are tied for second place, at 13-4 each, but Robert Morris holds all the tiebreakers over Bryant, and a win over Wagner Monday will clinch the No.2 seed for the Colonials. Bryant has a solid lock on the No.3 seed, while Sacred Heart sits in fourth at 11-6. The Terriers have locked up fifth place, and will take on the Pioneers in the first round.
• FDU, Mount St. Mary's and LIU Brooklyn are all tied for sixth place heading into the final game, and those games will determine who earns which seed and where each team will play. FDU hosts Sacred Heart Monday, while Mount hosts Saint Francis U., and the Blackbirds face off with the Terriers.