Women's Basketball Tops St. Francis Brooklyn in Overtime, 65-61
The CCSU women's basketball rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers, 65-61, in overtime on Saturday afternoon in New Britain.
The Central Connecticut women's basketball team rallied for a 65-61 win in overtime against St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon at Detrick Gymnasium. The win improved the Blue Devils' record to 5-4 in Northeast Conference play and 8-12 overall.
Freshman Andi Lydon led the Blue Devils with 17 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Senior Kayla Miller and sophomore Camden Musgrave reached double-digits along with Lydon with 16 and 13, respectively. Miller went 8-10 from the field while Musgrave hit four three-pointers.
Central raced out to a quick lead in overtime, scoring the first seven points. Following two layups by Miller the Blue Devils took a 59-52 lead. St. Francis got within 63-61 with five seconds left, but Lydon hit two foul shots down the stretch to seal the win for Central.
The Blue Devils shot 41.3 percent overall, including 20-of-34 (58.8%) int he second half. Central limited the Terriers to just 2-of-8 in overtime and St. Francis finished the day shooting 39 percent (23-of-59) overall.
Central chipped away at a 10-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the third quarter. Baskets by sophomore Emma Stroyan and Lydon opened the second half for CCSU. Following a three-pointer by St. Francis, the Blue Devils scored 10 unanswered points. Miller opened the run, followed by consecutive hoops from Lydon. Back-to-back jumpers from Miller gave Central a 30-29 lead, its first since 8-7 in the opening period.
CCSU would push the lead to as much as 44-37 with 8:45 to play after a three-pointer by junior Aleah Epps, before St. Francis would rally. The Terriers would score five unanswered before eventually tying the game at 50-50 on a three-pointer by Maria Palarino at the 2:32 mark.
Central took a 52-50 lead with 25 seconds left on a layup by Epps. The Terriers responded though with a bucket from Olivia Levey with :04 to play setting up a final chance for CCSU. Epps' three-point attempt at the buzzer went in and out, sending the contest to overtime.
CCSU got back-to-back three-pointers from Musgrave to open the game. Trailing 8-4, St. Francis rattled off 11 straight points to take a 15-8 lead after Cassidy Derda made a layup.
The Terriers would outscore the Blue Devils, 9-3, in the second quarter to take a 26-16 lead at halftime. Levey led St. Francis with 11 points in the first half and used a 13-3 advantage in points off turnovers. St. Francis also used an 18-4 advantage in scoring in the paint to lead 26-16 at halftime.
Levey led St. Francis with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Fechko and Palarino added 11 points each and Kat Phipps finished with 10 points for the Terriers.
Central is back in action on Monday night when Bryant comes to Detrick Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. contest. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 with John Schmeelk and Pam Roecker on the call.
