Women's Hoop Wins Opener at Hofstra
The Central Connecticut women's basketball team posted a 71-66 overtime win against Hofstra on Friday evening.
The Central Connecticut women's basketball team posted a 71-66 win in overtime against Hofstra on Friday evening. The Blue Devils improve to 1-0 on the season with the victory, while the Pride fall to 0-1. The Blue Devils were led by 16 points and six assists from senior captain Kaley Watras.
The Blue Devils forced overtime with a jumper by junior TeJahne Malone with 1:52 left in the second period. Malone's jumper tied the game at 55-55 and despite chances for both sides, neither team scored over the remainder of regulation.
The Blue Devils dominated the overtime period scoring 16 points. CCSU took control of the period on back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Camden Musgrave and Watras. A follow on the Pride gave the Blue Devils back-to-back possessions, which Musgrave and Watras converted into a 66-59 lead with 2:30 left to play.
Watras and junior Kayla Miller delivered the final points in the victory by each connecting on a pair of free throws with less than a second left to play.
"I though Watras did a really great job leading the team. She came off the bench early on and she settled us down when things were not going our way," head coach Beryl Piper said after the game. "Offensively, we were 11-of-26 from the three point arc, which was the difference in the game."
"I am just excited for our team because it was really a team effort and a lot of players made big plays at different points. We talk about 'I am, because we are' which is our motto this year and today that was really true."
Three point shooting gave the Blue Devils a 32-30 lead at halftime. Musgrave connected on a trio of threes in the period to score a team-high nine points. Junior Nicole Ferguson, sophomore Aleah Epps and Watras also connected from beyond the arc as CCSU shot 6-of-12 from long range in the half.
Defensively, sophomore Giocelis Reynoso sparked the Blue Devils with a pair of steals and a block in the first half.
Epps finished with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Musgrave scored 12 points, all coming on three pointers.
The Blue Devils finished the day 11-of-26 (42.3%) from the three-point line and 25-of-60 (41.7%) from the floor. Hofstra managed just 37.3% shooting and only 15% (3-of-20) from beyond the arc.
Senior Amanda Harrington pulled down eight rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Miller was also strong on the glass with seven boards in 18 minutes.
The Pride did hold a 46-40 edge in rebounding.
The Blue Devils are now 12-4 in overtime games under Piper.
The Blue Devils return to action on Monday night against the University of Hartford at Detrick Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets are available on CCSUTickets.com.