Udenze Blocks Six In Loss at The Mount

The Blue Devils outscored the Mountaineers 15-4 over the first 10:32 of the second half, but it was not enough for the victory as Central Connecticut State University (9-16, 6-9) fell to Mount St. Mary's (9-16, 5-10) by a score of 55-45 on the road Saturday. Junior Justina Udenze led CCSU with 12 points, while adding nine rebounds and a season-best six blocks. The junior moved into second place in Central Connecticut annals for career blocks with 84 her in three seasons. She passed former Blue Devils Donna Fiedorowicz who totaled 79 during her career in New Britain.

CCSU trailed 32-19 at the half and The Mount opened the second frame with two points from sophomore Sandra Andresson. The Blue Devils then went on a 15-2 run to come within one point at 35-34 with 9:28 to play in the game. Central sophomore Rachel Chandler's three pointer from the right corner really brought the Blue Devils within reach, making it 35-30.

Udenze then took things into her own hands. The Hamden, CT native fed junior Kerrianne Dugan for a layup on the break to bring Central within three points. She followed that up by blocking a Mountaineer's shot out of bounds. Once The Mount got the ball in bounds, Udenze blocked yet another shot and kept this one in play. The junior sprinted to the offensive end and Chandler found her for the fast break layup to make it 35-34.

The Mount St. Mary's lead hovered around three points until a six to zero run extended it to double digits at 50-40 and The Mount went on to the 55-45 victory. The Blue Devils were held to 28 percent field goal percentage for the game and were forced into 19 turnovers. The Mountaineers only committed 10 turnovers and picked up 12 steals in the win.

The Blue Devils only trailed 11-9 midway through the first half before The Mount used a 15-2 run to take a 26-11 lead with only 3:13 to play in the period. CCSU wasn't able to get anything going on the offensive end during the strecth due to numerous turnovers, which led to easy fast break baskets for Mount St. Mary's on the other end. Mountaineer juniors Leah Westbrooks and Lauren Howell were integral during the run, accounting for two buckets a piece with one of Howell's coming from beyond the arc.

Central got its deficit back to under double digits with two straight three-pointers by seniors P.J. Wade and Emily Rose. Wade knocked down a three from the left baseline to make it 26-14 with 2:40 left in the half before Rose connected on a triple in transition from the right wing to cut the deficit to nine at 26-17 with 2:12 to play. The Mount went on to hold a 31-19 lead at the break. CCSU recorded 10 turnovers in the opening frame, which led to 10 points off of turnovers for Mount St. Mary's.

Junior Mary Dunn led The Mount with 11 points, while Westbrooks finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Freshman Sydney Henderson added eight points, and team highs of nine rebounds and four assists.

Udenze led the Blue Devils in scoring and blocked shots, while Dugan was tops in rebounds and assists recording 11 and five in the categories, respectively. Dugan's 11 point and 11 rebound performance marks her fourth double-double of the season. Crockett was the only other Blue Devil in double figures, scoring 10 points and adding eight rebounds in the defeat.

Central Connecticut, now 6-9 in Northeast Conference action, will stay on the road and play at Wagner on Saturday. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m.