# 3 CCSU Hosts # 6 Chicago State In Monday's NEC Championship Quarterfinals

Postseason women's basketball returns to CCSU's Detrick Gymnasium on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. when the third-seeded Blue Devils host the sixth-seeded Cougars of Chicago State University in a quarterfinal matchup in the 2025 Northeast Conference Championship Tournament.  The Blue Devils have not hosted an NEC Championship home game since March of 2015, when Central defeated LIU in the conference quarterfinals, 72-51, before falling in overtime to St. Francis Brooklyn in the semifinals.  CCSU also played in the 2015 WNIT following the NEC Championship.  CCSU comes into Monday's contest with at 11-18 overall after wrapping up the 2024-25 regular season with a 68-63 road triumph over LIU.  The win on Thursday gave CCSU a 10-6 mark in NEC play this season.  Chicago State enters Monday's NEC quarterfinal with a 6-25 overall record, and the Cougars went 6-10 in conference play in their inaugural Northeast Conference campaign.  The Cougars head into postseason play on a two-game winning streak after posting a 58-55 overtime home win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on March 1 in their last game.

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CCSU and Chicago State spilt their two regular season games this season, the first two meetings in history between the two schools, as Chicago State picked up a win in the inaugural meeting between the two schools in the Windy City on January 23, 2025, 84-77, and Central prevailed in New Britain, 62-61, on February 20 of this year.

A LOOK BACK AT THURSDAY'S REGULAR SEASON FINALE:

• The Central Connecticut State women's basketball team wrapped up the 2024-25 regular season on Thursday night with a comeback 68-63 road win over the Sharks of Long Island University.  With the win, CCSU heads into the Northeast Conference Championship Tournament with an 11-18 overall record and a 10-6 NEC mark; which slots them as the number three seed in the tournament.  On Thursday, CCSU trailed, 61-59, late in the fourth quarter, when Belle Lanpher converted a traditional three-point play with 2:44 to play in the game to give Central a 62-61 advantage which they never relinquished.  Lanpher led all scorers in the game with 24 points, and she was joined in double figures by Meghan Kenefick with 13 points and Amaya Williams added 12 points for the winners.  On the glass for CCSU, Belle Lanpher led the team with seven rebounds and Kenfick added six boards. 

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITON:

•    The Chicago State University Cougars come into their first-ever Northeast Conference Championship Tournament as the sixth-seed with a 6-25 overall record and on a two-game winning streak having posted home wins over Mercyhurst, 77-63, on February 27 and Saint Francis (Pa.), 58-55, in overtime on March 1 in their last outing.  Chicago State went 6-10 in NEC play this season.
•    The Cougars are 1-15 away from the Windy City during 2024-25.
•    Freshman Alyanna Culver, an NEC Prime Performer this week, leads the team in scoring averaging 14.4 points per game.  She is joined in double figures by junior Josie Hill at 12.4 points per game, and Hill also leads the team on the boards at 6.3 rebounds per game.
•   As a team, the Cougars are averaging 60.3 points and 34.3 rebounds per contest, and they are allowing the opposition 76.6 points per game plus opponents are pulling down an average of 43.9 rebounds per game.
• The Cougars are led by Corry Irvin, who is in her first season as Chicago State's head coach.  Last year, the team went 1-26 playing as a Division 1 Independent

 THIS AND THAT:
 
•   The Blue Devils have not hosted an NEC Championship home game since March of 2015, when Central defeated LIU in the conference quarterfinals, 72-51, before falling in overtime to St. Francis Brooklyn in the semifinals.  CCSU also played in the 2015 WNIT following the NEC Championship. 
•  With her 24 points at LIU, Belle Lanpher has now scored a total of 1491 career points.  Belle has reached double figures in all 19 games she has played this season and a total of 22 straight outings dating back to last season. So far this season, Lanpher is averaging a team-best 22.6 points per game (23.0 points per game in conference play). She has surpassed the 20-point plateau in 13 games this season.  She leads the Blue Devils in rebounding at 5.7 boards per game from her guard spot.  Lanpher was named an NEC Prime Performer this week.
•   CCSU's Top Four All-Time Women's Basketball Career Scorers: 1-Hope Linthicum (1982-87), 1,773 points, 2-Gabriella Guegbelet (2003-07), 1,700 points, 3-Belle Lanpher (2020-present), 1,491 points, 4-Kiana Patterson (2015-19), 1,410 points
•  Graduate student Meghan Kenefick is second on the Blue Devils in scoring averaging 8.9 points per game, and she has grabbed 5.6 rebounds per outing (6.3 rpg. in NEC play).  Kenefick has now pulled down a total of 593 rebounds for her career.  She has now reached double-digit scoring in 13 games this season.  She heads into the post season a four-game double figures scoring streak.
•   Freshman Dagny Slomack is third on this season's CCSU scoring list averaging 8.8 points per game, and she has reached double figures in 13 games during the 2024-25 season. Slomack, who has hit a team-high 46 three-point shots so far this year, was named an NEC Prime Performer this week.
•   With her 12 points on Thursday, senior Amaya Williams has now reached double-digit scoring in 12 contests so far this season.
•   As a team, the Blue Devils are averaging 61.3 points per game (67.4 ppg. in NEC play) and allowing the opposition to score an average of 66.8 points per outing (64.9 in conference play).  On the glass, Central is pulling down an average of 35.4 rebounds per game; while the opposition is averaging 37.2 rebounds per contest.  Central has outrebounded its opponents in 11 of its last 15 outings.
•   Amaya Williams and Meghan Kenefick are the only two Blue Devils to play in all 29 of the team's games this season.

LAST SEASON IN THE NEC CHAMPIONSHIP:

•    The Blue Devils fell at Merrimack, 76-51, in the NEC Quarterfinals.  CCSU's last win in the NEC Championship was a 65-57 victory at Saint Francis during the 2016-17 campaign.  2024-25 is Chicago State's first season as a Northeast Conference member.

UP NEXT:

•  The winner of Monday's CCSU-Chicago State game will advance to the 2025 NEC Championship Tournament semifinals which will take place on Thursday. March 13 against an opponent and at a location to be determined by Monday's results.