Hartford Tops Women's Basketball, 49-41

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team falls to 1-6 on the season after they dropped a 49-41 decision at Hartford on Wednesday night inside Chase Arena in West Hartford, CT. The loss is the fifth-straight for the Blue Devils who head to University Park, MD next to face No. 5 ranked Maryland on Saturday. UHart improves their record to 4-3 with the victory.

Neither team could really get anything going in the first half as both teams combined for just 28 points at halftime. Hartford led 8-2 after the first quarter and then held an 18-10 advantage heading into the locker rooms. The Hawks shot 30.8% (8-26) in the first half while the Blue Devils shot just 19.2% (5-26).

Central came out of the break on fire, however, and opened the third quarter with a 13-3 run to storm back and take their first lead of the game, 23-21, with 6:19 remaining in the third period. Senior Kayla Miller had six points for CCSU in the run.

The Blue Devils would build their lead to as big as four, 27-23, a few minutes later, but Hartford closed out the third stanza with a quick 5-0 spurt to hold a 28-27 edge heading into the final quarter and would never trail again in the game.

Hartford controlled play in the fourth quarter early using a 13-2 run to open the quarter and pull away from the Blue Devils, 41-29. The Hawks' Darby Lee took over the game fueling the run with seven-straight points for Hartford.

Freshman Kiana Patterson knocked down a three for the Blue Devils on their ensuing possession to cut the Hartford lead back to single digits, but the Hawks sprung for a quick 4-0 spurt to build their largest lead of the game, 13 (45-32), with less than a minute to play in regulation.

Sophomore Camden Musgrave tried everything she could to give the Blue Devils one last chance, hitting three triples on Central's final three possessions of the game, but UHart's Deanna Mayza converted six-of-six free throw attempts down the stretch to preserve a 49-41 victory for the Hawks.

CCSU shot 32.1% (18-56) from the floor in the game, including 27.8% (5-18) from beyond the arc. Musgrave led the Blue Devils offensively once again, sinking a team-high 14 points for the Blue Devils. She was five-of-12 from the field, including four-of-nine from distance. Junior point guard Aleah Epps dished out seven assist while only turning it over once in the game for CCSU. She also added nine rebounds.

Hartford shot 38.3% (18-47) from the field in the contest, connecting for 28.6% (4-14) from three. They were also 75.0% (9-12) from the free throw line. Lee had a game-high 16 points for the Hawks while Mayza added nine points and five assists.

Central held a slight 34-33 edge on the boards in the game, but Hartford forced 17 Blue Devil turnovers and turned them in 14 points as a big difference maker in the contest.

The Blue Devils will return to action next on Saturday as they travel down to University Park, MD to take on No. 5 ranked Maryland. Tip-off inside the XFINITY Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.