Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team fell on the road at Central Connecticut State, 72-67, in Northeast Conference action Saturday afternoon at the William H. Detrick Gymnasium despite a furious comeback in the final minutes. With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 8-7 (2-3 NEC) on the season while the Knights fall to 1-15 (0-5 NEC) overall.

CCSU surged to a 29-13 run with just over four minutes left in the first half after a 14-2 run over the previous six minutes had broken the back-and-forth battle that had started the game. FDU did not put its head down and instead went on a strong run of their own, finishing the half on a 12-5 spurt to cut the deficit back to single digits.

Sophomore Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) was the only player on either team with double-digit shot attempts by halftime and unsurprisingly had a game-high 14 points at the interval.

In the second half, the Blue Devils started strong and led by as many as 19 points, but the Knights would put together an excellent final 10 minutes in which they outscored CCSU, 25-15.

FDU had a furious comeback in the final four minutes where they went on a torrid 16-3 run before free throws in the final seconds put the game beyond reach.

Cruz had a career game with 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting, all career highs. Senior Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) filled the box score with 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block over 34 minutes.Junior  Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) chipped in nine  points and seven assists in a team-high 37 minutes.

The Knights finished the game shooting 38 percent (23-of-60) from the field, including 50 percent from long-range (9-of-18) and 80 percent from the stripe (12-of-15) but allowed better field goal percentages to the Blue Devils (49% from the field, 63% from long distance).

For CCSU, its top two scorers led the way. Lauren Arbogast had a team-high 18 points, and Jessica Babe had 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, four steals and a couple crucial offensive rebounds late in the game.

"I thought we played with excellent energy and feistiness to cut that lead down," Head Coach Peter Cinella said. " I am very proud of our team in how they battled for 40 minutes. We just ran out of time at the end, and it was a good win for Central Connecticut. We just got to keep getting better, but I'm proud of how the team played." 

FDU heads back home to the Stratis Arena for a Martin Luther King Day matinee on Monday, Jan. 20 against LIU Brooklyn, which opens a three-game conference homestand. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.