BOX SCORE RINDGE, N.H. – The University of New Haven women’s basketball team erased a 15-point second half deficit and held a last-minute lead on Tuesday at Franklin Pierce, but the host Ravens scored four points in the final 32 seconds to escape with a 72-71 decision.
With the loss, the Chargers fall to 6-8 on the season with a 5-5 Northeast-10 record. Perennial region power Franklin Pierce improves to 10-4 overall and 7-3 in NE-10 play.
Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) scored a team-high 20 points for New Haven to lead five Chargers netting double figures, and
Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
Anh-Dao Tran (Webster, Mass./Holy Name) added 15 points, while
Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) and
Lauren Hebert (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) scored 10 points apiece.
Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) rounded out the scoring with four second-half points.
Led by LeBlanc, the Chargers owned a commanding 55-39 advantage on the glass, including 26 offensive boards that resulted in 24 second-chance points. The Ravens had a 13-10 edge in the turnover battle, and each team got 14 points from its bench.
Tiffany Johnson matched Moore with 20 points for the home team, including the game-winning score with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Following a high-scoring first half that saw the Chargers head to the locker room facing a 40-33 deficit, the Ravens began the second period on a 13-5 spurt to take a 15-point lead with 14:41 to play. The margin held in double figures up to a 64-53 count with 7:14 to play. At that point, New Haven netted six straight points as a part of a 12-2 run – punctuated by a Moore three-point play – to trim the score to 66-65 at the 4:06 mark.
After a Franklin Pierce bucket, Hayes cut the lead back to one point and, following an empty trip for the Ravens, Hebert buried a short jumper to give the Chargers their first lead of the half at 69-68 with 2:45 to go. Hayes came up with a steal on the next FPU possession and assisted on a Moore layup to extend the New Haven advantage to 71-68 with 2:25 remaining in regulation.
But New Haven would not score again – as neither team found the hoop until just 32 seconds remained. The Raven’s Kara Charette converted a layup to cut the UNH lead to one point, and the Chargers went 0-for-2 from the free throw line on the ensuing trip to give Franklin Pierce possession, trailing 72-71, with 19 seconds to go.
Johnson came through in the clutch for the Ravens, netting a layup with six seconds to go, and LeBlanc’s jumper rimmed out at the horn as Franklin Pierce survived with a 72-71 decision.
The Chargers return home to host Southern New Hampshire on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 1:30 p.m. The two-game swing from Charger Gymnasium concludes on Wednesday, Jan. 23 with a 7:30 p.m. visit from Saint Michael’s.