BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team (9-20, 6-12 Northeast Conference) begins the battle for a Northeast Conference championship title Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m. The Blackbirds, seeded No.8 in the post-season tournament, will face off against top-seeded Central Connecticut State (18-11, 14-4 NEC) in Detrick Gym. LIU will be aiming to become the second-ever No.8 team to upset a top seed in the tournament.
BLACKBIRD BITS• LIU finished the season tied for seventh place in conference standings with Mount St. Mary's. The Mountaineers earned the seventh seed by virtue of a tiebreaker, as MSM beat CCSU in the regular season, 54-50.
• LIU will be looking to snap a two-game skid, as the Blackbirds ended the season with an overtime loss at Sacred Heart, and a Battle of Brooklyn loss to SFBK in the final regular season game of the year.
ALL-TIME SERIES• LIU Brooklyn still has a slight lead over the Blue Devils in the all-time matchups, 17-13. In 2013-14, the Blackbirds swept CCSU, but this season, the Blue Devils returned the favor, beating LIU twice.
• In the first game between the two teams, LIU led at halftime, 41-32, but couldn't sustain the momentum, falling in Detrick Gym, 75-70. Junior
Sophie Bhasin led LIU with 33 points in the loss.
• In the second game between the two teams, CCSU led from start to finish, taking a 68-54 win in Brooklyn. The Blue Devils shot 52.2 percent from the field in the win. Bhasin led LIU once more, with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
• The Blackbirds will be looking to get some historical revenge on CCSU... In 2007, LIU became the first one seed in NEC tournament history to fall to an eight seed, when CCSU upset the Blackbirds. This year, LIU will be looking to return the favor, and add the Blue Devils to that historical list.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS• CCSU enters the NEC tournament as the top seed, after the most successful Northeast Conference regular season in team history. The Blue Devils earned a regular season co-championship this season, finishing tied with Bryant, with a 14-4 league record and an 18-11 mark overall. The 14 wins in league play are the most in school history for the Blue Devils.
• CCSU won the conference regular season after being picked to finish last in the NEC preseason poll. And rightly so, that feat earned head coach Beryl Piper the Brenda Reilly NEC Coach of the Year award, the first of her career.
• The Blue Devils are 9-0 at home against NEC teams this year, but have the tough task of defeating the same team three times.
• CCSU is a top defensive team, holding NEC opponents to a league-low 55.7 points per game. They lead the conference in rebounding defence, at 34.3 per game, and out-rebound their opponents by an average of 4.6 rebounds per game. They also get it done offensively, as the team is second in the NEC, shooting 39.4 percent from the field this year.
• The Blue Devils had two players earn post-season honors.
Freshman Camden Musgrave was named to the league's All-Rookie Team, and junior TeJahne Malone was named to the Second Team All-Conference squad.
• Malone leads a balanced offensive attack for the Blue Devils this season averaging a team-high 11.1 points per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. She also averages a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. She has started 26 games this season, averaging 27.5 minutes per game. In conference action Malone is averaging 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in 18 games.
• Musgrave is second on the team at 9.2 points per game while shooting 37.2 percent from three-point range as a freshman. She has 12 double-figure scoring games this season including two at 20+.
NEC HONOREES• Junior
Sophie Bhasin was named to the All-Northeast Conference Second team, while senior
Letava Whippy was named to the All-NEC Defensive Team, it was announced by the conference on Twitter Friday.
• Bhasin earned her second conference nod this year, after being named to the NEC All-Rookie team in 2013. The guard led LIU in scoring all season, and finished second in the NEC, averaging 15.6 points per game. She had seven games this season with 20 points or more, including a career-high 35 points at Wagner, just five points shy of LIU's single-game record. Bhasin was also third in the NEC in free throw percentage, hitting 84.4 percent of her shots from the line, and fourth in the conference in steals, snagging an average of 2.24 per game.
• Whippy earned her first postseason accolades in her final season with the Blackbirds. The captain finished eighth in the conference and led LIU with 7.2 rebounds per game. She was also second in the NEC and 48th in the nation in steals, grabbing 2.44 per game. Whippy had a career-high seven steals twice this season, including a crucial win over Saint Francis U., and she led the Blackbirds to a big win over Sacred Heart in January, with a career-high 21 points and 14 rebounds.