January 16, 2009

     NEW BRITAIN — - Nothing in Kerrianne Dugan's basketball life prepared her for losing on an epic scale.
     Her high school team played in the state title game twice in her four years, but as a freshman at Central Connecticut it took all last season to win as many games as Waterford High might win in two weeks.
     The Blue Devils went 4-25.
     "It was tough to go to practice every day, go to the games and get blown out," Dugan said. "It was tough to want to come back and get better."
     A Team Transformed Graphic For Leanne Crockett, the hardest part was watching. Crockett, a standout at Manchester High School, transferred from Maryland-Baltimore County and had to sit out the season. She could practice with the team, but she couldn't get out there and help it win games.
     "I would do what I could to help the team get better, but it was hard to sit just there and watch," Crockett said.
     But Dugan kept coming back and this year Crockett can do more than watch. The two sophomore forwards, aided by a strong freshman class led by guard Shontice Simmons, are sparking a transformation at Central Connecticut.
     As the Blue Devils leave for a swing through western Pennsylvania, they have won five in a row for the first time since 1997-98 and, at 10-5, have equaled their win total from the previous two seasons combined.
     More important, Central is 5-0 in the Northeast Conference, trailing only Sacred Heart (6-0), heading into games against St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday and defending NEC champion Robert Morris on Monday.
     Second-year coach Beryl Piper, who has engineered this turnaround, says there were times this fall when she could imagine this kind of success.
     But those reveries were interrupted by moments when she thought the Blue Devils might not win a game.
     "You didn't know what team would show up," said Piper, a 1987 Central graduate who coached three state title teams at New Britain High. "Early in the season when we made mistakes we reverted back to last year, when we didn't have a lot of confidence. We made some mistakes and then we would make more mistakes because we didn't have a lot of confidence in ourselves."
     The transformation began after a home loss to Bryant. Central trailed by 18 in the second half of that game but came back to cut the deficit to one in the final two minutes.
     "That was the start of us believing we can do it," Piper said. "If we fell behind last year, we would have lost by 40."
     The turnaround isn't built on confidence alone.
     The Blue Devils are a better basketball team. They are limiting opponents to 40 percent shooting, including 27 percent on threes. At the offensive end, Dugan, who averaged 10 points as a freshman, was the only Central player to average in double figures last season. This season, Dugan (11.8), Simmons (11.3) and Crockett (10.4) average double figures and the team's shooting percentage has improved from 36.1 percent overall and 29.6 on threes to 42 percent overall and 35.4 on threes.
     Central is also getting more shots. Last season, the Blue Devils turned over the ball more than 20 times a game. This season, they have cut that to 17 and have improved on the boards as well, led by Crockett's 8.1 rebounds a game.
     "We are a tough team to play against because everyone can do something," Piper said. "Last year we had some positions where we weren't really a scoring threat or a defensive threat. Now we look at our opponents and say, 'How is this team going to match up with us?' because we have so many different kids who can score from the outside and the inside. It's nice."