Red Flash Miss Opportunity in Regulation, Have Six-Game Win Streak Snapped in OT
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – The Saint Francis women’s basketball team battled back from a 14-point deficit and had a chance to win in regulation, but had its six-game winning streak snapped with a tough 70-67 defeat against Central Connecticut State on Monday evening at Detrick Gymnasium.
SFU scored the first bucket of overtime to take a 60-58 lead, but the Blue Devils used a 7-0 run to jump ahead by five. The Red Flash cut it to three points, 65-62, with 2:33 to play, but fell short of completing another comeback in the game.
Junior Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio / Mount de Chantal) had a game-high 21 points, including a big 3-pointer to force overtime, and added four rebounds. Sophomore Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa. / Trinity) had her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with three steals and two assists, and sophomore Samantha Leach (Mt. Sterling, Ohio / Miami Trace) and freshman Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md. / Severna Park) added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Five players finished in double digits for CCSU, including a team-high 14 from Shontice Simmons.
Saint Francis dropped to 9-14 overall and 7-5 in the Northeast Conference. CCSU improved to 15-8 overall, and 10-3 in the league. The Red Flash remain in fourth place in the league after Sacred Heart defeated Quinnipiac. The first-place and unbeaten Pioneers visit DeGol Arena at 4 p.m. on Saturday. It will be Pink Zone Day at DeGol Arena and all fans are encouraged to wear pink. Proceeds from the game will be donated as Saint Francis will show its support in the fight against Cancer.
SFU trailed by as many as 14, with 3:12 to go in the first half, but battled back to within seven at halftime, 36-29. The Red Flash finished the half on a 5-0 run, all by Hodges on two free throws and a 3-pointer with under six seconds remaining.
Saint Francis played catch-up for the better part of the second half, and trailed by nine points, 38-29, with the first bucket of the final 20 minutes. SFU crawled to within 3-points several times, and finally got over the hump on a 3-pointer by Hodges to take its first lead since the first half, 52-51, with 3:45 to go. The teams then traded baskets, and leads three more times.
Gabrielle Oglesby made a big layup with 1:31 to go to give the Blue Devils a 58-55 lead. Both teams traded missed opportunities before Hodges nailed her 3-pointer after getting an offensive rebound to tie the game at 58-58 with 16 seconds to go. CCSU got the ball across mid-court and called a timeout with 12.2 seconds remaining to set up a play. After the Blue Devils showed their alignment, SFU head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl called another timeout, and it paid dividends as the Red Flash forced a turnover by CCSU with 5.4 seconds left.
The Blue Devils called timeout to set up their defense, but Saint Francis got the play it wanted. The Red Flash ran the floor and had an eight foot open-look jumper fall just short on the front of the rim, forcing overtime.
Lilley had a tied a season/career high with six steals, and junior Janie Killian (Verona, Pa. / Penn Hills) had four points and 10 rebounds.