FAIRFIELD, Conn.— The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team opened up the postseason with a 62-58 victory against Central Connecticut State in the opening round of the Northeast Conference Tournament on Saturday.
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 8-16, 6-12 NEC
CCSU: 6-20, 4-12 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Nikki Johnson: 9 points, 3 rebounds
Carly Stroemel: 9 points, 3 rebounds

Up Next:
Sacred Heart will travel to face top-seeded FDU in the NEC Quarterfinals on Monday at 7 p.m.
 
Of Note
The game saw 11 ties and 10 lead changes and was tied at 41-all going into the fourth quarter.
 
CCSU scored a free-throw before Kelsey Wood got an offensive rebound and put the ball back in for the layup to give Sacred Heart the advantage, 43-42, at the 8:25 mark. Wil'Lisha Jackson followed with a three-pointer off the assist from Sonia Smith to extend the lead, 46-42.
 
The Blue Devils responded with three-straight points to tie the game, 46-46, with 5:45 left. A Nikki Johnson layup 24 seconds later gave the Pioneers back the lead,, 48-46. A layup and two free throws from Maiya Bergdorf at the 2:16 mark extended Sacred Heart's lead to 58-53.
 
The two teams traded a pair of point before the Blue Devils drained a three to make it a two-point game with 15 seconds left. CCSU was forced to foul and sent Smith to the line with just nine seconds remaining. The junior sank both to seal the win.
 
Sacred Heart scored 18-of-22 (81.8%) from the line, including 10-of-12 (83.3%) in the fourth quarter, while CCSU had 9-of-14 (64.3%).

Carly Stroemel and Johnson each posted nine points and three rebounds.. Adrianne Hagood finished with eight points. Asia McCray grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and four steals while Smith dished out a game-high six assists.