Women's Basketball Moves to 5-0 With 68-65 Overtime Win at Holy Cross on Wednesday Night

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team continued its best start in the Division I era with a 68-65 overtime victory on the road at Holy Cross on Wednesday night. The Blue Devils are now 5-0 on the season after their second straight win in overtime. Sophomore Kirsten Daamen scored a career-high 17 points while senior Kerianne Dugan added a season-high 19 points in the victory. The 5-0 start is the best for the Blue Devils since the 1984-85 season when they also started 5-0.

Central climbed out to a 7-3 lead early in the first half after four quick points from Dugan. After missing their first six shots from the field, Holy Cross answered with an 11-2 run to take a 14-9 lead with 12 minutes on the clock.

A five point run from junior Alexzandria Dowdy in just a 13 second span gave the Blue Devils back the lead, 21-20 at 8:05.

After falling behind by four, Daamen scored back-to-back buckets to tie the game at 25.

The Crusaders led 31-28 at the half, but neither team shot well from the field before the break. Central hit on 37.5 percent (12-of-32), while Holy Cross was 11-of-33 (33 percent). The Crusaders had a 27-16 advantage on the glass, including 11 offensive rebounds.

Daamen led the Blue Devils with nine points while Dowdy had seven. Freshman Jessica Babe had six rebounds before halftime.

Central scored the first six points of the second half to take a 34-31 lead. A three from Dugan made it 37-33. She had seven points in the first three minutes of the period.

The Blue Devils led 41-38 with 11:42 on the clock following a bucket from freshman Lauren Arbogast. Back-toback threes from the Crusaders made it 44-41 before a three from junior Gabrielle Oglesby tied the score.

Down five at 53-48, the Blue Devils used buckets from Daamen and Dugan cut it to 53-52 with under six to play. Four straight from Holy Cross pushed the lead back to 57-52. The Blue Devils answered with hoops from Dugan and Dowdy to make it 57-56. Trailing by two, 58-56, with 16.0 seconds on the clock, Dowdy drove to the hoop and hit the game-tying layup with under six seconds to play.

After the Crusaders hit a three to start overtime, Dugan and Daamen hit baskets and senior Leanne Crockett hit two free-throws to make it 64-61 in favor of the Blue Devils. Down one, Oglesby hit a fast break lay up and then two free-throws to give Central the 68-65 lead.

Dugan's 19 led the Blue Devils offensively, while Dammen added a career-high 17 points. Dowdy had 11 while Oglesby contributed 10, including four in the overtime period. Daamen hit 8-of-11 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. The Blue Devils had 17 assists in the win, led by five each from Crockett and Dowdy.

The Blue Devils return to action on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Rutgers.