Women's Basketball Falls On The Road To Army

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team fell to Army, 81-52, on the road on Thursday night in Christl Arena. The Black Knights controlled the glass out-rebounding the Blue Devils 44-31 in the game, including 25-14 in the first half. 12 of Army's 25 first half rebounds were on the offensive end resulting in 14 second chance points for the Black Knights. Central slips to 1-2 with the setback and Army improves to 3-0 on the season with the victory.

Central struck first with a layup by sophomore Emma Stroyan on their first possession, but then the Black Knights rattled off a 17-0 run over the next six minutes of action in the first quarter to distance themselves from the Blue Devils. Aimee Oertner had 10 points for Army during the run.

Army then used another quick 8-0 spurt to end the first quarter, giving them a 25-5 advantage at the first intermission.

Central would try and chip into the lead, responding with a quick 8-0 run of their own to cut the Black Knights lead to 27-13 with 7:24 to play before halftime. Sophomore Caitland Considine converted a four-point play after being fouled on a three pointer and then sunk a fast break layup to fuel the run with six-straight points.

However, Army punched back once again and sprung for another big run. They went on a 14-3 spurt to end the half and take a 45-21 lead into the locker rooms.

Central improved in the second half, especially in the rebounding department. They were only slightly out-rebounded, 19-17, and kept Army off the offensive glass surrendering only four.

The Blue Devils cut the Army lead to 45-24 after converting on their first two possession after halftime, but that would be as close as CCSU would get for the remainder of the game.

Army's Kelsey Minato went on to score 12 of the Black Knight's next 14 points spanning four minutes in the middle of the third quarter to help Army retake command of the game, 58-30. The Black Knight's would then go on to build their lead to as big as 39, 74-35, just before the midpoint of the final quarter.

CCSU ended the game strong, however, outscoring Army 17-7 over the final five minutes of play for the final 81-52 result. Freshman Kiana Patterson hit a pair of three's over the final time frame.

The Blue Devils shot 34.0% (17-50) in the game, including 33.3% (7-21) from beyond the arc. They also connected on 11-of-19 (57.9%) of their free throw attempts.

Patterson and junior Aleah Epps led the way for Central with 12 points a piece. Patterson was four-of-eight shooting from the floor and Epps hit on four-of-nine attempts. Epps also chipped in with five assists. Stroyan added eight points and had a team-high six rebounds.

Army shot 45.0% (27-60) from the field in the game, including 54.5% (6-11) from beyond the arc. They also shot 70.0% (21-30) from the free throw line.

Minato had a game-high 23 and Oertner finished with a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Army held a 34-12 advantage in points in the paint and the Blue Devils turned the ball over 28 times resulting in 30 points off turnovers for the Black Knights.

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team will return to action as they play the second game of a three-game road swing at Penn State this Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.