Women's Basketball Drops Hartford, 82-50

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team earned an 82-50 victory over Hartford on Tuesday night.  Junior Kaley Watras scored a game-high 24 points to lead CCSU on the offensive end.  The Blue Devils led by 20 at the half and used strong shooting early in the second period to carry a 30-point lead for most of the second half.

CCSU opened up a 40-20 lead at the half behind quality three-point shooting and solid rebounding.  The Blue Devils connected on four-of-eight three-point attempts and held a 28-12 advantage in rebounding.  The Blue Devils actually had more offensive rebounds (13) in the period than the Hawks had total rebounds.

Watras led CCSU's late run with three three-pointers over the final five minutes.

Sophomore Kayla Miller (6), sophomore Amanda Harrington (5) and senior Jessica Babe (5) led CCSU on the glass.  Harrington was excellent on the offensive boards pulling down four rebounds, which helped her score nine points in the period.

Strong shooting to open the second half helped CCSU build a 30 point lead.  The Blue Devils led by as many as 36 in the second half and did not let the Hawks pull within 28 points over the final 15 minutes of the game.

Watras led CCSU with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting and 4-of-6 from behind the three point arc.  She was also two-for-two at the free throw line.

Harrington was excellent in the paint with a career-high 13 points.  She pulled down eight rebounds in the game, with five coming on the offensive boards.

Babe was all over the court for the Blue Devils with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 32 minutes.

Sophomore Nicole Ferguson was the third CCSU player with double-digit points.  She came off the bench to hit four-of-nine shots, including three three-pointers.  She finished with a career-high 11 points.

Miller also had a strong game for CCSU with eight points and eight boards.

The 32-point margin of victory is the largest for the Blue Devils since beating New Hampshire by 39 points on Nov. 27, 2011.

The Blue Devils continued the strong rebounding in the second half and finished the game with a 48-29 advantage on the boards, including 18 offensive rebounds.

CCSU also shot 48.5% from the floor and 57.1% from behind the arc.

The Blue Devils return to action on Saturday at La Salle.  The game is scheduled to tip-off at 1 p.m.