New Haven at Dowling
Wednesday, Dec. 4 - 6 p.m.
Dowling Gymnasium - Oakdale, N.Y.
Live Stats | Live Video

Complete Games Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
The University of New Haven women's basketball team returns to East Region competition with a visit to the defending regional champion and a 2013 NCAA Division II National Finalist, Dowling.
 
Last Time Out
New Haven was on the short end of a defensive battle, dropping a 55-50 overtime decision to No. 17 Rollins in the Rollins Thanksgiving Tournament Championship Game on Saturday, Nov. 30.
 
Aquillin Hayes led the Chargers with 17 points and 20 rebounds. Hayes previously ripped down 21 boards last season in a win over Le Moyne.
 
Bria Moore added 13 points with three three-pointers, and Rykema Stone netted 11 points.
 
Hayes' 20 rebounds led the Chargers to a 51-48 advantage on the glass. Jasmine Gibson pulled in a career-best seven boards and Ayana Duncanson controlled six caroms.
 
New Haven led in points in the paint, 22-10, but Rollins held a 23-13 advantage in turnovers. The Tars recorded 19 points off Charger giveaways.
 
Stone hit a pair of free throws with 1:03 remaining in regulation to stake New Haven to a 45-44 lead before Tanaya Jones hit the first of two from the stripe to knot the score at 45-45. The Chargers had a possession with the shot clock turned off but were unable to get a clean look as the contest headed to overtime. The Tars scored the first seven points of the extra session and held on for the 55-50 win.
 
The Chargers played three ranked teams last season, falling to No. 24 Assumption (66-84), No. 23 Stonehill (70-73) and No. 2 Bentley (66-75). New Haven's most recent victory over a nationally-ranked opponent was a 69-68 home win against No. 10 Holy Family on Nov. 15, 2008.
 
Scouting Report
The Dowling College Golden Lions enter tonight's contest with a record of 1-2. Dowling is coming off its best season in program history in 2012-13 with a 30-4 final record, NCAA East Region Championship and a trip to the NCAA National Championship Game.
 
Looking to replace All-America forward Danielle Wilson, the Golden Lions boast four players current scoring in double figures. Kamille Ejerta has posted 13.5 points per game in two contests off the bench, while Christina Verrelle leads the starting five with 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing.
 
Dowling's early results this season consist of an 81-57 loss at No. 1 Bentley, and non-region home loss to Indiana (Pa.) by a score of 66-52 and, most recently, a 70-36 trouncing of visiting Bridgeport on Nov. 30. New Haven is the second of four Northeast-10 opponents on the Dowling's non-conference slate.
 
Last Season vs. Dowling
The Chargers were the first of 30 opponents to drop a game to Dowling last season, with the Golden Lions taking a 66-58 victory in West Haven on Nov. 18, 2012 (box score featured right).
 
Bria Moore scored a team-high 15 points for New Haven, and Briana Bradford added 10. Nikita Reddy had 13 bench points fueled by three three-pointers.
 
Among players on the current Dowling roster, Julia Koppl led the way with 13 points, including four three-pointers, and 10 rebounds in the win. Danielle Wilson had 15 points, 10 boards and six blocked shots.
 
New Haven led as late as the 15:52 mark with a 40-39 advantage, but the Golden Lions responded with a 9-0 run to claim a lead that they would not relinquish en route to the eight-point win.
 
All-Time Series
After meeting twice annually as conference foes (NYCAC/ECC) from 2000-08, the series between the Chargers and Golden Lions was renewed as a non-conference, regional rivalry beginning in the 2011-12 campaign. Dowling has won back-to-back meetings over the past two seasons. Prior to that, New Haven had won the last six encounters.
 
New Haven Notes
Aquillin Hayes' double-double (17 points, 20 rebounds) at No. 17 Rollins was her third of the season and second straight after notching a team-best seven double-doubles in 2012-13. Hayes, who was selected as the women's NewHavenChargers.com Student-Athlete of the Week for her performance in Florida, averages 10.3 points and a Northeast-10-leading 12.3 rebounds per game.
 
Saturday's outing was Hayes' second career game with at least 20 rebounds. She hauled in 21 boards to go along with 12 points and eight blocked shots in a win over Le Moyne last winter. That effort on the glass was the best by a Charger since Joy Jeter had 23 rebounds in a win over Keene State on Jan. 23, 1988. A New Haven Athletics Hall of Famer, three-time All-America honoree and the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the 1987 National Championship team, Jeter is New Haven's all-time leader in both career points (2,299) and career rebounds (1,486).
 
Friday's win over Davis & Elkins was the first New Haven victory outside of the East Region since a 72-67 win at Lynn in Boca Raton, Fla. on Dec. 20, 2009. The East Region is defined in NCAA Division II women's basketball as the Northeast-10, East Coast and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conferences.
 
This season, Briana Bradford has surpassed 20 points in three of the four games she has played en route to a team-high 19.8 points per contest. She is shooting 23-for-42 (54.8 percent) from the floor, 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from three-point range and 22-for-25 (88 percent) from the free throw line. Bradford scored a career-high 24 points with five three-pointers in the Nov. 13 win over Saint Rose. She also drained five from beyond the arc en route to 21 points in the conference win at Pace on Nov. 23.
 
Bria Moore has scored in double figures in five games this winter, including a season-best 19 points at American International on Nov. 26. She averages 11.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest and has provided a spark from long range, shooting 13-for-27 (48.1 percent).
 
Two of the breakout performers throughout November have been Elizabeth Cruso and Rykema Stone. Cruso is averaging 7.0 points per game from the perimeter, while Stone has contributed down low with 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.
 
The Chargers have knocked down eight or more three-pointers in three games this season, including 10 treys in the Nov. 13 win over Saint Rose. In a two-game span featuring NE-10 divisional contests at Pace and American International, New Haven combined to shoot 17-for-27 (63 percent) from long range. For the season, the Blue and Gold have connected on 38-of-93 attempts (40.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
The Chargers' 4-0 start was the first for the program since the 1989-90 team won its first six outings. The Blue and Gold also began at 3-0 in the conference for the first time since 2009-10.
 
Prior to the season-opening win at Dominican and Saturday's loss at Rollins, New Haven last played an overtime game on Jan. 2, 2011 at crosstown and Northeast-10 rival Southern Connecticut State (L, 60-54). The Chargers last won in an extra session prior to this season on Jan. 26, 2010 at Southern New Hampshire (W, 67-65).
 
Up Next
New Haven resumes Northeast-10 play and returns to Charger Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 7 with a 3:30 p.m. visit from Adelphi. The Panthers are the last unbeaten team in the NE-10 Southwest Division at 3-0 as a part of a 6-0 tally overall. Adelphi travels to Georgian Court this evening for non-conference action.