BOX SCORE Box Score
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The University of New Haven women's basketball team bounced back after a tough first half to force overtime against the Southern Connecticut State University Owls, but dropped its first contest of 2011 60-54. The Chargers fell to 2-9 overall and 1-6 in the Northeast-10 Conference with the loss, while the Owls improce to 6-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
The Owls opened the game with the first points, while the Chargers didn't get on the board until the third minute. Southern opened a nine point lead, 11-2, off a layup at the 14:19 mark. The Owls would eventually take a 15-point lead, 21-6, with 6:26 remaining in the first half. UNH gradually worked themselves back into the game, going on a 10-2 run to close the first half and cut the SCSU lead to 23-19 at the break.
The Chargers struggled shooting the ball throughout the opening half, connecting on just 25-percent of their shots. New Haven out-rebounded Southern 25-15 in the first half, but turned the ball over 13 times. Yasmin Itheir-Vicenty led the team with seven points, while Ayana Duncanson led the team with five rebounds.
The Owls maintained a lead throughout most the second half. The Chargers cut the lead to two points, 38-36, at the 11:13 mark and took their first lead of the game after an Audrey Cunningham three-pointer with 8:39 left. The teams then exchanged points for the remaining minutes of regulation. The Chargers led by two, 48-46, with just over a minute left in the second half after a free throw by Cunningham. The Owls connected on one free throw at the other end as UNH held on to a one-point lead. Cunningham connected on one more free throw after the teams exchanged turnovers, giving the Chargers a 49-47 lead with eight-seconds remaining in the second half. Southern's Moni Smith-Ocran put in a layup as the buzzer rang, tying the score at 49-49 and forcing an extra period.
The Chargers led for the first half of the overtime period, but Southern rallied and went on a 9-0 run to close the game. New Haven was off on its final three shots as the Owls sealed a six-point victory.
Freshman guard Anh-Dao Tran led the Chargers with 13 points and three assists. Ithier-Vicenty finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while three other Chargers finished with eight points.
UNH concluded the game shooting 30.9-percent from the floor, 40-percent from three-point range and 76.2-percent from the line. The Owls led 46-42 in rebounds, while the Chargers turned the ball over 31 times, compared to 27 by the Owls.
New Haven returns to action on Wednesday, January 5 when they travel to Bentley University for another Northeast-10 Conference game. Game time in Waltham, Mass. is set for 5:30 p.m.
