Head coach Beryl Piper has agreed to a five-year contract extension to remain at the helm of the Central Connecticut women’s basketball program through the 2016-17 season. Piper, who is entering her sixth season coaching at her alma mater, has led the Blue Devils to three Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals.

Over her first five seasons with the Blue Devils, Piper has compiled a record of 66-84 and 41-49 in NEC play. After a disappointing first season, Piper has led her squad to a 62-59 record and a 38-34 mark in NEC contests. The 62 wins are the most over any four-year stretch in the program’s history.

The 2008-09 team won 18 games, the best turnaround in the NCAA after winning four games the year before. That squad also qualified for the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, which marked the first national postseason tournament for the Blue Devils since moving to Division I.

Piper’s 66 victories are the second most Division I wins among CCSU’s women’s basketball coaches. Her coach, Dr. Brenda Reilly, won 86 games over the program’s first 10 seasons of Division I play.

Upon Piper’s return to CCSU, the women’s basketball program had a .313 winning percentage over 21 Division I seasons. Piper has posted a winning percentage of .440 over her five seasons, improving the program’s winning percentage to .340. Piper has coached the Blue Devils in just five of 26 Division I seasons, but her 66 victories account for 27% of CCSU’s 244 all-time victories.