Women's Hoop Sinks UMass in Overtime, 78-68

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team defeated Massachusetts, 78-68, in overtime at home on Saturday afternoon. Senior TeJahne Malone hit a foul line jumper with 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game, 60-60, and force overtime. The Blue Devils would go on to outscore UMass 18-8 in the overtime period for the 78-68 victory. Junior Aleah Epps led Central with a career-high 24 points in the win.

Post-Game Highlights

Central Connecticut improves to 2-7 overall on the season with the victory and Massachusetts slips to 3-5 overall on the year with the setback.

With the Blue Devils trailing 60-58 with under a minute to play in regulation, CCSU made a nice defensive stop and retained possession and called a timeout at the 16.7 mark. Following the timeout it appeared the initial play call got bottled up and Epps decided to create something on her own. She drove hard down the right side curling across the baseline and fed Malone at the foul line who knocked down the 15-footer with 1.7 seconds remaining to tie the game and force overtime. Central would go on to control the overtime period and prevail, 78-68, to pickup their second win of the season.

The first half proved to be a back-and-forth affair as the score was tied four different times and there were three lead changes. UMass led for 16:27 of the first half, but Central kept it close as the Minutewomen led by no more than five over the first 20 minutes of play and the Blue Devils would use a quick 5-0 spurt to close out the half to take a 26-25 lead into the locker rooms. A three-pointer by senior Nicole Ferguson and layup by sophomore Camden Musgrave closed the first half to give Central the one-point lead at the break.

Following the intermission, Malone hit a jumper to open the second half as CCSU scored the first five points of the period. An acrobatic three-point play by Musgrave then made it 31-25 before UMass would end their scoreless drought to start the half.

In total, the Blue Devils used a 13-2 run from the end of the second quarter into the third quarter to erase a four point deficit and build a 34-27 lead with 8:37 to play in the third quarter.

After a three by UMass' Cierra Dillard, Central would stretch the lead to double-digits following six straight points. A layup by sophomore Emma Stroyan and a jumper by senior Kayla Miller was followed by two foul shots from Epps to make it 40-30 with 6:49 to play in the third quarter. Both teams would trade points over the remaining time in the quarter and CCSU led 47-37 heading into the final period.

A layup by Epps early in the fourth quarter would give CCSU its largest lead of the day at 51-39 with 9:12 to play, but UMass would then go to work chipping away at the lead.

The Minutewomen scored seven unanswered points to open an 18-3 run to storm all the way back and retake the lead. Alyssa Lawrence fueled the run scoring the first four points and had eight during the stretch overall. A three-point play by Dillard closed the run out and gave UMass a 57-54 lead with 4:05 to play in regulation.

Dillard then hit what had appeared to be a dagger of a three as she beat the shot clock with 1:25 to play and put UMass up 60-56, but the Blue Devils showed resilience and Malone knocked down a jumper on the Blue Devils next possession to stay within striking distance. A big defensive stop and rebound by Malone then set up the game-tying play at the end of regulation.

The Minutewomen scored first in overtime as Dillard hit two free throws after she was fouled shooting a three pointer to lead 62-60, but that would be the final time they held the advantage for the remainder of the game as CCSU outscored UMass 18-8 in the bonus period to earn the 78-68 victory. The Blue Devils iced the game converting eight-of-10 free throw attempts in the final minute of overtime, including five-of-six from Epps.

Five Blue Devils scored in double-figures in the game led by Epps who had a career-high 24. She was joined by Musgrave (13), Malone (12), Miller (11) and Stroyan (10). Ferguson also chipped in with eight points to round out the scoring for the Blue Devils. It marked the first time five Blue Devils had scored in double figures since Nov. 22, 2014 in a 81-58 win over UMass-Lowell.

The Blue Devils have a week off before their next contest when they travel down to Fordham to take on the Rams on Sunday, Dec. 20. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.