FDU improves to 4-0 in NEC, upends CCSU

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

TEANECK, N.J. — Despite a 14-3 record, Stephanie Gaitley honestly feels her FDU team is not at its best. 

That is not a good sign for the rest of the Northeast Conference.

The Knights are now 4-0 in Northeast Conference play after defeating Central Connecticut Saturday, 75-58, at Bogota Savings Bank Center. The Blue Devils saw their three-game winning streak end, and are now 4-14 (3-2 NEC).

Points of emphasis:

Sharing the lead: FDU’s win, as noted, raised its conference record to 4-0. The Knights share a similar record with Stonehill but Gaitley, nor the rest of her staff or team, is ready to celebrate. There are a lot more games on the docket before things get sorted out in March.

“The league is balanced, so we are taking it one day at

a time,” Gaitley said.

The Knights do have a meeting with Stonehill, whom they face on the road this Thursday. For now, the focus is solely on the next opponent.

“We have to come back, ”Gaitley added, “and get ready to face a really athletic Chicago State team on Monday.”

Many options: Teneisia Brown, FDU’s inside threat, struggled on Saturday. The graduate center scored six points in a 28-minute outing.

“Teneisha was not at her best,” Gaitley admitted. “She

shot a few fallaways rather than go strong to the basket. We still ran some very good offense.”

FDU placed four in double figures. Freshman guard Ava Renninger led the way with 17 points. Lilly Parke scored 14, while Abaigeal Babore and Abby Conklin added 11 each. Kailee McDonald, another freshman, gave a good effort, narrowly missing double figures with nine points, all in the second half. The 5-foot-9 guard also led FDU with six rebounds.

Utilizing a four-out offense, the Knights showed very good ball movement on the perimeter, resulting in a number of uncontested looks and 10 three-pointers.

Number one option: Central Connecticut's Belle Lanpher is the lone Blue Devil averaging double figures,

at 22.3 points per game. The graduate guard is acting coach Kristin Caruso’s primary option. In the first

half, Lanpher led the way with 12 points. Teammate Kayla Henry was effective inside with eight points and six rebounds.

Despite taking a 39-25 into halftime, Gaitley felt a few

things had to be addressed, one being CCSU’s supporting cast.

“We wanted different kids to step up if they were going to beat us,” Gaitley said. “We didn’t want Belle to come in and go off, which she did.”

Lanpher scored 19 points in the final 20 minutes to finish with a game-high 31. Henry, a sophomore forward, was limited to four second-half points, finishing with 12. No other Blue Devil player reached double-figures. Lanpher, as noted, put up 19 of CCSU’s 33 second-half points as she proved to be not just a primary, but virtually the only

option, for the visitors.

Improvement: The 17-point victory was not without a few points Gaitley wants her group to get better at.

“I felt we didn’t play our best game,” she said. “I felt we were lacking a bit on controlling the details. We were outrebounded (37-33), which I am not happy about. We also gave up 34 points in the paint and 21 second-chance points. I don't think we did a good job (in those areas).”

The FDU deficit was 34-18 on those points in the paint. The Knights were on the short end of a 21-20 count of

second-chance points. A number of those paint points

were courtesy of Lanpher, who hit just one three-pointer

and six free throws. Simply, a number of her points were on penetration in the lane, contributing to the Blue Devil disparity.

“I just thought we were lacking a bit defensively,” Gaitley said.

Notes: In a 61-possession game, FDU held a 123-95 edge in offensive efficiency. It was the second-best offensive efficiency showing for the Knights, who posted a 126 a week ago in a 77-63 victory at Mercyhurst.

Central Connecticut shot 41 percent from the floor and made just two of its 13 three-point attempts. FDU checked in at 44 percent, with an impressive 10-of-25 from downtown. Henry had a game-high nine rebounds, Renninger led the way with four assists.

FDU, who committed just nine turnovers, had an excellent 12 percent turnover rate. Central Connecticut was also solid with its ball handling, registering 14 giveaways but recording an 18 percent rate. The miscues proved crucial, as the Knights had an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers.

NEC officiating observer Steve Rubinaccio was in

attendance observing the crew.