ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – The University of New Haven women's basketball team ushered in the Ty Grace era with a 77-74 overtime victory on Saturday afternoon at Dominican. Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) scored a game-high 23 points in the season-opening triumph.
 
With the win, the Blue and Gold open a season at 1-0 for the first time since 2009-10, and Head Coach Ty Grace earns her first-career victory on the sidelines for New Haven. Dominican falls to 0-1.
 
Bradford netted 13 of her 23 points in the second half and overtime. She also matches her career high in scoring attained twice last winter en route to Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team honors. Rykema Stone (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) scored a career-best 16 points, and Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) was the third Charger in double-figures with 12 off of the bench.
 
Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) poured in eight points in addition to matching her career high with a team-leading four assists. Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) and Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) each scored six, and two points apiece by Ana Obella (Miami, Fla./Cypress Bay), Jasmine Gibson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Spring Valley) and Audrey Cunningham (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) rounded out New Haven's 77 tallies.
 
Bradford also led the way with eight rebounds – including five off of the offensive boards. Hayes and Stone added six rips apiece to guide New Haven to 41-31 advantage on the glass. The Chargers turned their 16 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points. UNH also won the turnover battle, 23-22, and each club scored 20 points off of opponent miscues.
 
As a unit, New Haven shot 27-for-60 (45 percent) from the floor and 22-for-30 (73.3 percent) from the free throw line. Cruso drained the lone three-pointer for the Chargers on seven total attempts.
 
LaShonda Hathorne led four players in double-figures for Dominican with 19 points. The home team shot 25-for-59 (42.4 percent) from the field with an 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) showing from distance and a 16-for-20 (80 percent) outing at the charity stripe.
 
The first half featured three lead changes, with New Haven staking itself to a quick six-point advantage and Dominican leading by as many as eight points in the opening frame. A pair of Bradford free throws put the Blue and Gold on top, 23-21, with 5:47 until the intermission and started New Haven on a 10-0 run. Bradford and Hayes each had four points during the three-minute stretch, and Duncanson capped the spurt with a jumper. However, Dominican tallied 13 of the next 15 points to knot the game at 33-33 before Duncanson drained a pair of free throws in the final minute to send UNH into the locker room holding a 35-33 edge.
 
Duncanson also accounted for the first points after the intermission before the hosts scored the next five to reclaim the lead. The advantage shifted five more times over the ensuing five minutes of action, settling with a 47-47 deadlock at the 10:50 mark in the period. Hayes broke the stalemate with a jumper that began a 5-0 run, and a five-point cushion would hold up to a 64-59 count with 4:04 left.

Dominican would respond again, this time with a five-point run of its own to pull even with 1:16 to go. Stone converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the next UNH possession, but Dominican followed that with a three-of-four showing from the stripe to tie the contest for the 11th time at 67-67 with 16 seconds remaining. New Haven had a chance to win in regulation, but could only manage a well-contested look in the closing seconds as the game went into overtime.
 
Stone started the scoring in the extra period with a jumper assisted by Bradford, and the hosts answered with two free throws. This would prove to be the 12th and final tie of the afternoon, as a Bradford three-point play staked New Haven to a 72-69 lead that it would not relinquish. UNH hit five-of-six free throws over the last 2:03 of action to ice a 77-74 triumph.
 
New Haven last played an overtime game on Jan. 2, 2011 at Southern Connecticut State (L, 60-54) and last won in an extra session on Jan. 26, 2010 at Southern New Hampshire (W, 67-65).
 
Action comes to Charger Gymnasium for the first time in 2013-14 on Wednesday, Nov. 13 as the Northeast-10 slate begins with a visit from Saint Rose. The 7 p.m. contest will be broadcast live in high definition and free of charge on NewHavenChargers.com.