Women's Hoop Falls to Saint Francis U Monday Night

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team fell to Saint Francis PA, 61-48 on Monday night inside DeGol Arena in Loretto, PA. The loss is the second-straight for the Blue Devils (15-10, 11-3 NEC) in Northeast Conference play. The Red Flash improve to 5-20 overall on the season and 4-10 in the NEC. The Blue Devils were led by redshirt-freshman Lauren Wolosik and senior Amanda Harrington, who each finished with 11 points.

The Blue Devils trailed the Red Flash 30-20 at halftime. It marked the second-straight game CCSU trailed at the break, but just the third time this season in conference play.

Central struggled shooting from the floor, connecting on just 32.3% (10-31) of their shots. The Blue Devils also did not connect on a three point attempt in the half (0-7). 

Saint Francis used a 7-0 run to close the half, keeping Central scoreless for the final 4:45. The run was capped off by a second-chance three by SFU's Aisha Brock at the top of the key with 34 seconds before intermission to take the 30-20 lead into the locker room.

Amanda Harrington highlighted the half for CCSU. The senior led all scorers at the break with 10 points on five-of-eight shooting.

In the second half, the Blue Devils came out strong. They opened up the half on an 8-2 run, including five points from junior Kayla Miller, to cut the Red Flash lead to just four, 32-28 with 15 minutes to play in the game.

The Red Flash would respond, however, with a 12-4 over the next five minutes to increase their lead up to 12, 44-32 with nine minutes to play.

Central threatened late and got within five points, 47-42, with 3:34 left to play, but they would get no closer as Saint Francis ended the game on a huge 14-6 run to earn the 61-48 victory. The Red Flash connected on nine-of-10 free throws, including seven-of-eight from Alexa Hayward, down the stretch to preserve the victory.

The Blue Devils shot 33.9% (19-56) from the floor in the game and were just 15.4% (2-13) from three. They also committed 22 turnovers that led to 17 Saint Francis points.

Wolosik hit five-of-nine field goal attempts from the floor, including one-of-two from behind the arc to finish with 11 points. She also contributed four assists.

SFU's Alexa Hayward finished with a game-high 23 points on six-of-16 shooting from the floor, including three-of-eight from distance. She also connected on eight-of-10 free throw attempts and added five assists and four steals.

Saint Francis shot 36.5% (19-52) from the floor, 33.3% (5-15) from three and was eight-of-12 from the line in the game.

The Blue Devils will return to action with their final two home games of the season next weekend, playing Sacred Heart on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Saint Francis U on Monday night at 7 p.m. On Saturday against the Pioneers the Blue Devils will celebrate Senior Day. Fans can watch both games live, for free, on NECFrontRow.com.