Babe's 22 Leads Women's Hoops

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team defeated St. Francis (NY) on Monday night in Brooklyn Heights, 67-51.  The Blue Devils (11-12, 5-7 NEC) were led by 22 points by junior Jaclyn Babe and 19 from sophomore Kirsten Daamen.

The Blue Devils grabbed a 20-8 lead seven and a half minutes into the game.  Junior Kirsten Daamen was a major contributor to the fast start.  She scored eight of the 20 points.  Hitting two-of-three shots from the field and connecting on four free throw attempts.

Jaclyn Babe scored five points during Central's early run before exploding for eight of her team's final 12 points of the half.   Two of Babe's 13 points came on three pointers that kept the Blue Devils ahead late in the period.

The Blue Devils shot 45.5% (10-22) from the field in the period and finished the half ahead, 32-27.

The Terriers (3-20, 2-10 NEC) pushed the Blue Devils in the second half, chipping into the Central Connecticut lead, but the Blue Devil offense responded with 35 points on 13-of-24 (54.2%) shooting.

St. Francis cut the lead to 33-30 less than three minutes into the second half, but the Blue Devils quickly answered.  Central scored eight straight points to take a 41-30 lead.  Babe scored four points during the run and Watras and sophomore Lauren Arbogast each contributed a basket.
From that point the Blue Devils never allowed the Terriers to get closer than a two possession game.

The Blue Devils closed the game on a 17-7 run.  Ending the game with their biggest lead of the night, 16 points, after a three pointer by freshman Danielle Davis.

Freshman Kaley Watras finished with a game-high seven assists, with five coming in the second half.  Watras also contributed nine points and five rebounds in the game.

Babe finished with a game-high 22 points.  It is her sixth 20-point game of the season.  She also had six assists and four rebounds in the game.  Daamen scored 19 points, grabbed six boards and blocked three shots.

The Blue Devils maintained their lead throughout the game by shooting well at the free throw line.  Daamen and Watras each hit on five-of-six attempts in the game and Babe went six-of-six at the line.  Four of Watras' free throws came in the final 3:30 of the game.

The Blue Devils return home on Saturday for a NEC Rivalry Week game against Quinnipiac.  That game can be seen live on NortheastConference.tv.