New Haven (11-4, 6-3 NE-10) vs. Franklin Pierce (8-6, 5-4 NE-10)
Saturday, Jan. 18 – 3:30 p.m.
West Haven, Conn. – Charger Gymnasium
Live Video | Live Stats
 
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
 
Opening Tip
The University of New Haven women's basketball team returns home to Charger Gymnasium to host Northeast-10 Northeast Division opponent Franklin Pierce. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m. as the second game of a doubleheader.
 
Last Time Out
A 21-0 run over the final 9:25 of the first half staked New Haven to a comfortable lead that it would not relinquish en route to a 71-53 victory at Saint Michael's on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
 
Aquillin Hayes scored a career- and game-high 27 points on 13-for-18 shooting and added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Her previous career best was a 20-point performance at Adelphi on Nov. 20, 2012.
 
Hayes' 13 made field goals are the most by a Charger since Dominique Stellmacher shot 13-for-22 en route to 31 points against Adelphi on Dec. 8, 2009. With 18 attempts from the floor, Hayes took the most efficient route to 13 made field goals since Lauren Hood's 14-for-18 showing in a 37-point performance against Mercy on Dec. 1, 2007.
 
Briana Bradford added 10 points off the bench as all nine Chargers to take the court tallied at least two points. Elizabeth Cruso knocked down three three-pointers to accumulate nine points, and Ashley LeBlanc netted eight points to go along with a team-leading 10 rebounds. Rykema Stone posted six points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots.
 
As a unit, New Haven shot 29-for-67 (43.3 percent) from the field, 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) from beyond the arc and 9-for-15 (60 percent) from the free throw line.
 
The Chargers controlled the boards with a 50-41 rebounding edge, and 16 offensive rips led to 20 New Haven second-chance points. The Purple Knights held a 15-14 edge in turnovers, but the Blue and Gold maintained a 14-13 advantage in points off of takeaways.
 
New Haven Notes
At 11-4, New Haven is off to its best 15-game start since the 2006-07 campaign. The Chargers began that season at 12-3 and finished 25-6 en route to their second consecutive NYCAC/ECC Championship.
 
New Haven has limited eight opponents to fewer than 60 points this winter, including a season-low 43 tallies surrendered to Davis & Elkins on Nov. 29. Opponents have been held to a .353 field goal percentage and .313 three-point percentage while committing an average of 16.7 turnovers per game against the Blue and Gold's defensive pressure.
 
The Chargers rank second in the Northeast-10 with 60.6 points per game allowed and lead the NE-10 with an opponents' field goal percentage of 35.3 percent. Led by 26 rejections by Rykema Stone, the Blue and Gold are also third in the NE-10 with 3.9 blocks per game. Offensively, New Haven slots sixth in the conference with 69.8 points per game.
 
The Chargers have knocked down eight or more three-pointers in four games this season, including 10 treys in the Nov. 13 win over Saint Rose.
 
Aquillin Hayes has recorded six double-doubles this season en route to 12.4 points and a conference-leading 10.3 rebounds per game. Hayes posted a team-high seven double-doubles last winter.
 
Hayes has two career games with at least 20 rebounds, including the November overtime contest at No. 17 Rollins. She hauled in 21 boards to go along with 12 points and eight blocks in a win over Le Moyne last winter.
 
This season, Briana Bradford has surpassed 20 points in four games en route to a team-high 15.2 points per contest to rank ninth in the Northeast-10. She scored a career-high 24 points with five three-pointers in the Nov. 13 win over Saint Rose. Bradford 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 10 games this winter, including a streak of seven outings in a row from Nov. 26 through Dec. 22. She averages 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest and has provided a spark from long range, ranking fifth in the NE-10 at 43.2 percent (19-for-44) from distance. Moore scored a season-high 20 points against Adelphi on Dec. 7.
 
Rykema Stone has posted two games with five blocks during the month of January to continue a breakout winter for the junior. She currently averages 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while ranking second in the Northeast-10 with 1.7 blocks per contest.
 
With 91 career three-pointers to her credit, Audrey Cunningham has climbed to eighth on the Chargers' all-time list.  She is one trey shy of tying her former teammate Dominique Stellmacher (2007-11) for seventh place and with nine more triples would become the sixth player to knock down 100 attempts from distance for the Blue and Gold.
 
The four teams that have defeated the Chargers this winter are currently are a combined 46-14. Additionally, the Tars and Panthers are both ranked in the USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll at No. 13 and No. 21, respectively.
 
Up Next
New Haven welcomes the No. 1 team in the nation on Wednesday, Jan. 22 as Bentley visits Charger Gymnasium for a 7:30 p.m. outing. The contest will be broadcast live in high definition and free of charge on NewHavenChargers.com.