Women's Basketball Opens NEC Play

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team will open Northeast Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Robert Morris.  Saturday's contest will be the first of 2013 for the Blue Devils (6-5) and the Colonials (1-10).  The game is scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m. and will be followed by the Central Connecticut and Robert Morris men's game.

Here are some notes on the Blue Devils heading into the NEC Opener:

Tonight • The Blue Devils (6-5) have completed their non-conference slate with a winning record for the third consecutive season and now turn their attention to the Northeast Conference schedule. CCSU will open the NEC schedule with a long road trip to Robert Morris and Saint Francis U. Today, the Blue Devils visit the Colonials at the Sewall Center, it is the NEC opener for both squads.

Series History • The Colonials hold a 15-11 advantage in the all-time series between these programs. Robert Morris has won four in a row against the Blue Devils and seven-of-eight over the last five seasons. The Blue Devils have not won in Moon Township since 2002. Over that stretch Central is 0-9 at the Sewall Center. Under head coach Beryl Piper, the Blue Devils are 1-7 against Robert Morris and 0-4 at the Sewall Center.

Steals • The Blue Devils have had four individual seven steal performances this season: three by senior Jaclyn Babe and one by junior Jaleen Thomas.

Homecoming • Homecoming for a trio of Blue Devils. Senior Jaclyn Babe, junior Jessica Babe and junior Lauren Arbogast are all products of Pittsburgh, PA, and Mt. Lebanon High School.

Stinging the Hornets • The Blue Devils earned a 76-54 victory over Delaware State in the consolation game of the University of Miami Holiday Tournament. The Blue Devils led 36-31 at the half, but exploded for 40 second half points to break the game open. Senior Jaclyn Babe had 16 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 23 despite just 25 minutes on the floor. Senior Kirsten Daamen had a game-high nine rebounds.

Free Throw Shooting • The Blue Devils are 127-for-182 (69.8%) from the free throw line this season, but a good chunk of those misses came in a single game against Miami (12/28) when the Blue Devils shot 12-of-34 from the line. Minus the Miami game the Blue Devils are 115-for-148 (77.7%) from the line in 10 games this season. That works out to just 3.3 misses per game, compared to 11.5 made free throws.

Rebounding • After not having an individual double-digit rebound game in the first eight contests of the 2012-13 season, the Blue Devils managed to do it in back-to-back games. Junior Jessica Babe had 10 boards against Rider (12/21) and junior Jaleen Thomas had 10 against Miami (12/28). Babe and Thomas are two of the three Blue Devils averaging 4.0 or more rebounds per game this season. Babe is at 7.0 rbs/g and Thomas is at 4.2 rbs/g, senior Kirsten Daamen is the third player in that group with 4.7 rbs/g.

Wide Open Games • Of CCSU's 11 contests this season nine have been decided by 8 points or more, seven by double-digits and five by 20 points or more. The other two contests were both decided by a single-point with Central losing to Holy Cross 57-56 and the Blue Devils topping Rider 62-61 in overtime.