Four Blue Devils Score in Double Figures, Women's Basketball Edged by St. Francis Brooklyn
Lydon and Patterson shared a game high 17 points apiece.
Four Central Connecticut women's basketball players scored in double figures in a 78-70 loss against the visiting St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers on Saturday. Juniors Kiana Patterson and Andi Lydon shared a game high 17 points each. The Blue Devils out-scored the Terriers 46-41 in the second half and out-rebounded them 34-28 for the game.
SFBK (7-10, 3-3 NEC) shot 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the floor and and Central (2-15, 2-4 NEC) made 24-of-57 (42.1 percent) from the floor and seven three's in the game.
Rookie Ashley Forker sank a career high 12 points and added four rebounds and two assists for CCSU.
The 25th best three-point shooting Division I school in the nation knocked down its first trifecta of the game at 5:27 in the first quarter to take a 9-7 lead. Patterson knotted up the score at 11-11 when freshman Tiffany Slicklein swung the ball around the horn to Patterson who connected on the corner three.
At the end of the evenly played first quarter, CCSU and St. Francis Brooklyn were tied at 15-15.
Patterson knocked down her 10th point of the game to stop a 5-0 Terrier Run early in the second quarter to make the score 20-18. SFBK would then respond on a key 8-0 run to break open a double-digit lead 30-20 at the 2:45 mark that they would maintain for the remainder of the half.
The Blue Devils trailed 37-24 at the half and held the Terriers to just 1-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. Patterson led all scorers with 12 first half points. St. Francis forced 12 CCSU turnovers and shot 50.0% from the field and knocked down a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
In her sixth straight start for Central, Forker began the second half with a right-wing three-pointer and then completed the following play in transition off of a feed from Patterson to go on a 5-0 individual run. SFBK's second leading scorer in NEC play, Alex Delaney answered Forker's call with her second triple of the day, but the rookie from Telford, PA would the sweep up a loose offensive rebound and drain a jumper in the lane, forcing Terrier head coach John Thurston to call a time out with 7:49 on the clock.
Out of the talk, St. Francis Brooklyn forced consecutive Central turnovers and ran off on a 6-0 run to open up a 14-point lead at 46-32 with 6:33 on the clock. Forker sank back-to-back buckets and freshman classmate Emma McCamus tallied four points in the final four minutes of the third quarter to bring the lead down to 52-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Devils out-scored the Terriers 20-15 in the third quarter.
Lydon combined for nine points in a two minute span midway through the fourth quarter, but SFBK traded baskets, keeping a healthy double figure lead. McCamus powered in an old fashioned three-point play to bring the Blue Devils to within eight points with 1:43 left, but the Terriers would hold strong from the foul line to seal the win in the end.
CCSU's defense held the Terrier's leading scorer in conference play at 16 points per game, Jade Johnson, to just five points. SFBK saw four players in double figures lead by 15 apiece from Maria Palarino and Delaney.
McCamus ended with 12 points including a solid 8-of-11 foul shots, a career high eight rebounds and team best three steals. Slicklein also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds.
The Central Connecticut women's basketball team will host LIU Brooklyn on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. inside of Detrick Gymnasium
