NEW BRITAIN, CONN. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team wraps up a five-game road swing this Monday, January 4, as the Blackbirds travel to New Britain, Conn. to take on Northeast Conference foe Central Connecticut State. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. in Detrick Gymnasium.
LAST TIME OUT• The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team opened the 2016 Northeast Conference season with a road win Saturday evening in Knott Arena, as the Blackbirds beat Mount St. Mary's, 61-51. It was the first NEC season-opening win for LIU since 2009. Defense was a highlight for the Blackbirds, as LIU forced 28 Mountaineer turnovers.
• Senior
Ashley Brown had a career high five steals, four of which came in the first half. Brown also had a career-high four rebounds, along with eight points. Senior
Shanice Vaughan led LIU in scoring with 17 points. She also had five rebounds and two steals in the win.
• The Mountaineers out-rebounded LIU, 42 to 32, but the Blackbirds only had 14 turnovers, to Mount's 28. LIU scored 17 points off turnovers, and had 11 steals as a team.
ALL-TIME SERIES• LIU holds the all-time series advantage between the two teams, 17-14, dating back to 1998.
• Last year, CCSU beat LIU three times - at home (75-70), in Brooklyn (68-64), and then as the top seed in the Northeast Conference tournament (72-51).
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS• Central Connecticut State enters Monday's match-up at 3-9 overall, 0-1 in NEC play. The Blue Devils dropped their NEC opener on the road at Bryant, 70-56. CCSU kept it close until the middle of the third quarter, when Bryant used several runs to go up and take the win. Sophomore guard Camden Musgrave led CCSU in scoring, with 21 points in the loss.
• Prior to that, they had notched a non-conference win over Dartmouth, 59-55. Other CCSU wins came over UMass Amherst (78-68 OT), and UMass Lowell (64-53). CCSU had a strong non-conference slate, taking on several big programs, including Penn State, Fordham, and No.5 Maryland, all on the road.
• Musgrave leads the team in scoring overall this season, with a 12.5 points per game average. Junior guard Aleah Epps is next, with 8.7 points per game.
• Senior forward TeJahne Malone leads the defensive effort for the Blue Devils, with 6.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Kayla Miller is next, with 5.1 rebounds per game. Miller leads CCSU with a 2.1 steals per game average.