BOX SCORE Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Five members of the University of New Haven women’s basketball team registered double-figures on Saturday afternoon, but a late rally was not enough as the Chargers dropped a heartbreaker to Merrimack College, 80-79, at Volpe Gymnasium on the campus of MC. A free-throw from Tiffany Colon with 0.3 seconds on the clock proved to be the difference and granted the Warriors a one-point victory.
With the loss, the Chargers descended to 2-17 on the season and 1-14 in Northeast-10 competition. The Warriors leveled their record out at 9-9 overall, 7-7 in the league.
The opening 20 minutes of action featured an offensive outburst from both teams. The Chargers connected on 45 percent of their shots, including 6-of-11 from behind the arc. The Warriors were up to the challenge however, knocking in 48 percent of their field goal attempts and five from long distance. In a very tight match, the Warriors had managed to pull ahead by one point, 44-43, as the halftime whistle sounded.
Anh-Dao Tran spearheaded a balanced attack for the Chargers, pouring in nine points in the stanza. Nicole Pollard and Audrey Cunningham each collected eight, while Dominique Stellmacher and Lauren Boivin added seven. Sarah Benischek led the Warriors with 10 points at the break.
After the trip to the locker room, the two teams continued to play well on the offensive end. Merrimack opened a five point lead and sustained the advantage for much of the half. However, with two minutes remaining in regulation and trailing by seven, the Chargers mounted a 7-0 run – tying the game up at 78-78 with 59 seconds showing on the clock.
In the final minutes, a strange sequence of events concluded the thrilling finish. The Warriors took the lead with a free-throw and then fouled Stellmacher with three seconds remaining. Stellmacher made one of two from the line to tie the score up at 79-79, but the Chargers proceeded to commit a foul with just 0.3 seconds on the clock. Colon made it interesting by missing the first attempt, but knocked down the second to grant Merrimack an 80-79 victory.
Tran concluded the afternoon with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. Four other Chargers finished with double-figures, as Pollard pumped in 16, Stellmacher 15, Boivin 12 and Cunningham with 11. New Haven limited its turnovers, committing only 10, but would have liked to make more from the charity stripe. The Chargers went 10-of-18 from the line for a dismal 56 percent.
The Chargers return to action on Wednesday, February 2 with an away game at American International. Tip-off is set for 5:30 in Springfield, Mass.
