NEW BRITAIN, CONN. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team had a huge Northeast Conference win Monday night in Detrick Gymnasium, as the Blackbirds beat league-leading Central Connecticut State, 68-62. Graduate student
Dionne Coe led the Blackbirds with 18 points in her strongest offensive performance of the season; Coe shot 83.3 percent from the field Monday, a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range, and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Freshman
Aja Boyd had a double double against the Blue Devils, with 16 points and ten rebounds, along with two blocks, while senior
Shanovia Dove had 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Blackbirds opened the game in dominated fashion, going on a 13-0 run in the first four minutes of action. Boyd sparked the spree, scoring the first five points of the game, while Coe and Dove added threes to extend the run. CCSU finally got on the board just before the six-minute mark, when senior Aleah Epps hit a jumper. From there, the Blue Devils didn't stop scoring. In a run that would extend into the second period, CCSU shut out the Blackbirds, outscoring the visitors 19-0, and forcing six turnovers in the span. The run gave CCSU a 19-13 lead at the start of the second quarter.
Two minutes later, the Blackbirds started scoring once more, sparked by a jumper from freshman
Autumn Ashe at 8:11. Over the next three minutes, LIU outscored the home team 10-2, including back-to-back lay ups from freshman
Victoria Powell that would put the Blackbirds back on top, 25-23. CCSU answered LIU's run with a matching 10-2 run that would give the home team a 33-27 advantage at the half.
After CCSU opened the half with a jumper from Epps, Coe went to work. The guard would hit back-to-back threes that helped LIU come back to tie the game up at 35 all. From there, strong free throw shooting helped keep the Blackbirds in the game. Boyd, Dove and freshman
Seneca Richards went a combined 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the third period, putting LIU up, 46-44. CCSU would hit a last second jumper to end the third period with the score tied at 50-50.
Coe and Boyd would combine to open the fourth period on an 8-2 run that put LIU up, 58-52 with 3:46 to play. CCSU struggled to score points in the span, as the Blue Devils would not score a field goal for over six straight minutes, going 0-for-8 from the field. The home team righted the ship in the final two minutes of play, making 3-of-4 from the field to close the lead to just four points, but Coe and Dove would go 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the final minute and a half to ice the win for LIU, 68-62.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- With the win, LIU improves to 4-17 overall and 3-7 in NEC play, while the Blue Devils move to 8-13 overall, and 7-3 in the NEC.
- The Blackbirds shot 76 percent from the free throw line in the win, going 19-for-25 from the charity stripe. LIU also out-rebounded the Blue Devils, 44-36.
- Up next, LIU returns home to host Saint Francis U., Saturday, February 4 in the Steinberg Wellness Center; tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.