Simmons Leads CCSU in 66-51 Northeast Conference Loss at Robert Morris

Freshman Shontice Simmons had 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals to lead Central Connecticut (11-6, 6-1) in a 66-51 Northeast Conference road loss at Robert Morris (7-10, 5-2). Sophomore Leanne Crockett added 11 points, nine rebounds and six steals in the defeat, CCSU's first during league play this season. The loss also snapped a six-game Blue Devil winning streak.

A Kerrianne Dugan layup and Simmons three-pointer gave Central Connecticut a 5-0 lead to start the contest, but Robert Morris senior Sade Logan scored the game's next eight points to put the Colonials in front. CCSU responded to Logan's surge with a 10-0 run. Dugan, a sophomore, started the stretch with a layup. It ended with a Simmons steal, fast break layup and one.

Robert Morris countered the Blue Devil run with a 12-3 run, tying the game at 20-20 on a Logan three-pointer. They regained the lead with a triple from senior Kendra Williams following another Simmons bucket. The RMU lead reached eight points, 30-22 and 32-24, and was at 32-26 as the teams headed to the locker rooms at the half.

Simmons had 10 first half points. Crockett added five points and six rebounds. Logan had 15 points to lead all players, while junior Monet Johnson posted 10 points and nine rebounds. Williams was the only other Colonial player to score.

Robert Morris pushed their lead back to eight points at the start of the of the second half. Trailing 46-38, CCSU cut into the margin with a 7-0 run. Freshman Gabrielle Oglesby started the stretch with a jumper. Simmons followed with another steal, fast break layup and one, and sophomore Justina Udenze made it a 46-45 game with two free throws at the 9:09 mark. That would be as close as Central Connecticut would get.

Logan scored five points during a 7-0 Colonial counter immediately proceeding Central Connecticut's run. The Blue Devils managed to get back to within four points, 53-49, with just less than five minutes remaining, but Robert Morris ended the game on a 13-2 run.

Dugan added seven points, five rebounds and three steals to the efforts of Simmons and Crockett. Udenze, meanwhile, had six points and seven rebounds. Logan finished with 33 points, while Johnson totaled 15 points and 16 rebounds.

Central Connecticut will return home its next match-up, a Jan. 24 meeting with Quinnipiac. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. The CCSU men's team hosts Quinnipiac prior to the women's game. Fans can watch and listen to both games live on CCSUBlueDevils.com. Check out mediaCENTRAL for more information.