New Britain, Conn. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team dropped a 67-50 decision to Central Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon in Northeast Conference action at CCSU's Detrick Gymnasium.

After trailing the Blue Devils 30-22 at halftime, Le Moyne outscored CCSU by a tally of 16-13 in the third quarter to cut its deficit to five, but the Blue Devils pulled away in the closing minutes of the final period with the help of nine fourth-quarter points from senior guard Amaya Williams.

The Dolphins shot 9-of-9 from the free throw line, marking the first time this season that they shot 100% from the stripe, and also the first time in conference play that they took less than 10 free throws, while CCSU shot 17-of-21 from the line, including 11-of-11 during the final 10 minutes.

Graduate guard Belle Lanpher, the NEC's leading scorer in conference play, tallied a game-high 20 points for the Blue Devils to go along with five rebounds and four assists, while Williams chipped in 13 points, graduate forward Meghan Kenefick provided 12 points, six rebounds and four assists, and freshman guard Dagny Slomack added 12 points and five rebounds.

Le Moyne graduate forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game with a team-high 16 points in addition to eight rebounds and a block.

Sophomore forward Zhara Adeyemi (Brooklyn, N.Y./South Shore) registered a career-high 14 points for the 'Phins on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the line in 18 minutes played off the bench.

Senior guard Mia Yanogacio (Somerset, N.J./Rutgers Prep/Delaware) provided 10 points, her second-highest scoring output of the season, while freshman guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township) contributed eight points, four rebounds and four assists to the Le Moyne cause.

CCSU pulled down 15 offensive rebounds during the win, the most that Le Moyne has allowed so far in conference play, while the Dolphins collected five offensive rebounds, the fewest that they have recorded in conference play.

The game began with both sides trading 10-0 runs. The Blue Devils scored the first 10 points of the game with the help of back-to-back three-point field goals from Slomack, then following a Le Moyne timeout, the Dolphins responded in kind with a 10-0 run of their own, keyed by five consecutive points from Roberts, a midrange jumper from Adeyemi, and a three-pointer from Clark at the 2:40 mark that tied the game.

Lanpher's second field goal of the game with 27 seconds remaining in the first gave the Blue Devils a 13-10 advantage, then Adeyemi drew a foul and sank two free throws with 11 seconds on the clock to make it 13-12 after 10 minutes of action.

Following a driving scoop layup from Yanogacio with 6:47 left in the second period, which made it 17-16 in favor of the home team, Central Connecticut State went on another 10-0 run, with the help of back-to-back jumpers from Kenefick at the 4:04 and 3:48 marks, to extend its lead to 11.

Clark dribbled from the left wing to the top of the key and swished a long two-point pull up jumper with 2:36 remaining in the second to end the run, then Adeyemi scored the next four points via two free throws and a tough driving layup in traffic to cut Le Moyne's deficit back to five.

During the ensuing CCSU possession, Lanpher received a pass from Williams in the right corner and drained a three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the second to give the Blue Devils a 30-22 lead at the intermission.

Le Moyne shot 6-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in the third to cut into its deficit.

On Le Moyne's first possession of the second half, Roberts caught a pass on the right block, powered up to the rim, finished a layup through contact, drew a foul and sank the free shot at the line.

A three-pointer from Yanogacio at the 9:02 mark was sandwiched by baskets from Kenefick and Slomack, then Williams extended the CCSU lead back to eight with a layup.

Adeyemi rattled home a contested jumper near the right elbow, then following a defensive rebound from Roberts and a quick pass ahead from Clark, Adeyemi crossed over her defender and finished a layup at the left block to cut the deficit in half.

CCSU pushed its lead back out to nine, but three-point field goals from Clark and Roberts sandwiched two free throws from Lanpher to make it a five-point game heading into the fourth.

Central Connecticut State scored the first six points of the fourth, then Roberts ended the run with a three-pointer from the top of the key off an assist from Clark.

A quick 7-0 burst from CCSU, which included a three-pointer and a layup from Williams, extended the Blue Devils' lead to 56-41 with 5:09 remaining.

Yanogacio scored the next five points for Le Moyne with a three-point field goal and two free throws to trim the deficit back to 10, but Le Moyne would be unable to decrease the CCSU ead to single digits as the Blue Devils shot 7-of-7 from the line in the final 3:46 to close out the win and improve to 4-3 in NEC play, and 4-6 at home.

Le Moyne (2-17, 2-4 NEC) will return to Ted Grant Court for a three-game homestand that begins with a 12:00 p.m. contest against Wagner College on February 1.