Women's Basketball Falls to SFPA, 57-47

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team fell to St. Francis (PA) by a score of 57-47, at Detrick Gym on Monday night.  The Blue Devils (6-9, 0-4 NEC) bid for their first Northeast Conference win of the season was stopped by a relentless second half defensive effort from the Red Flash (6-9, 3-1 NEC).

Junior Jaclyn Babe scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the first half.  She went seven-of-11 from the floor to lead a Blue Devil attack that shot 50.0% (15-30) from the field in the period.

Central built a 22-point lead over the first 15 minutes of play.  The Blue Devils went ahead 12-6 on a jumper by sophomore Jaleen Thomas just over five minutes into the game.  From that point, the Blue Devil lead continued to grow. 

A free throw by junior Brooke Bailey with 5:03 remaining in the half put the Blue Devils ahead 33-11.  Central outscored the Red Flash 21-5 over a 10-minute stretch between Thomas's basket and Bailey's free throw.

St. Francis made a run late in the half, but junior Kirsten Daamen hit a short jumper just before the buzzer to give the Blue Devils a 38-22 halftime lead.

Thomas came off the bench to score five points, grab five boards, block two shots and make a steal in 15 minutes of action in the half.  Sophomore Jessica Babe who had a block and a pair of steals and Daamen who blocked a pair of shots, also contributed to the defense.

As a team, the Blue Devils limited St. Francis to 22 points in the period on just six-of-31 shooting.  The Red Flash's 19.4% shooting mark is the lowest that the Blue Devils have limited an opponent to in any half this season.

After the break, the Red Flash turned the tables on the Blue Devils with relentless defense.  St. Francis scored 35 second half points to earn the 57-47 victory.

Jaclyn Babe finished with 19 points.

Daamen was the second leading scorer for the Blue Devils with eight.  She also blocked four shots in the game.

Jessica Babe finished with seven points, nine boards, five assists, two blocks and two steals.

The Blue Devils will play their next four games on the road.  The first stop will be Saturday at Wagner College.  That game will tip-off at 4:00 p.m.  After that, the Blue Devils will head to the Mount for a 7 p.m. game on Monday night.