BOX SCORE NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) scored a team-high 18 points to lead four players in double figures, but the University of New Haven women’s basketball team dropped a 92-74 decision at Merrimack on Saturday afternoon in an offensive slugfest. Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
After the loss, the Chargers stand at 6-7 overall and 5-4 in the Northeast-10. Merrimack improves to 9-4 on the season with a 5-4 NE-10 tally.
 
Joining Moore and Hayes in double figures were Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) and Anh-Dao Tran (Webster, Mass./Holy Name). Bradford posted 16 points, eight rebounds and a team-best five assists, while Tran poured in 12 points with four helpers. Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) added eight points, Lauren Hebert (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) had four, Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) and Nikita Reddy (Germantown, Md./Germantown) each had two and Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) scored one point to round of the New Haven offense.
 
The Chargers ceded a 55-48 deficit on the boards, though New Haven’s work on the offensive glass led to a 21-19 advantage in second-chance points. Merrimack also won the turnover battle, 17-16, and held a decisive 29-12 edge in points off of miscues.
 
Jaclyn Lyons led the Warriors with a game-best 22 points, while Kelly Schatzlein added a double-double with 16 points and 21 rebounds.
 
An 18-17 lead on a Bradford jumper with 12:01 to go in the first half marked the last time that the Chargers would be on top. Merrimack shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the opening half to take a 58-34 lead into locker room.
 
New Haven would not fade away in the second half, climbing to within 12 points, 82-70, on the back of a 23-6 run over a span of nearly eight minutes. But the early deficit proved insurmountable as time ran out on a 92-74 defeat.
 
New Haven continues its Northeast-10 road swing at Franklin Pierce on Tuesday, Jan. 15 before returning to Charger Gymnasium to meet Southern New Hampshire next Saturday, Jan. 19, at 1:30 p.m.