WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Capitalizing on a 12-0 run to break a tie score midway through the second half, the University of New Haven women's basketball team powered past visiting Molloy, 69-56, on Saturday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium. Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) posted her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Chargers.
 
With its third consecutive win, New Haven improves to 9-3 on the season while Molloy drops to 7-4. The Chargers conclude their non-conference schedule at 5-1 outside of the Northeast-10.
 
Hayes added four assists, three steals and a blocked shot in addition to her double-double. Her 14 rebounds vault her back atop the Northeast-10 Conference with 10.8 boards per game.
 
Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) led all players with 17 points off the New Haven bench, shooting 6-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Rykema Stone (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) scored 12 points, and Audrey Cunningham (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) added 11 off the bench. Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) contributed eight points to go along with eight rebounds, and Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) netted six. Rounding out the scoring were Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) with four points and Jasmine Gibson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Spring Valley) with one.
 
As a team, the Chargers shot 25-for-56 (44.6 percent) from the field, 1-for-5 (20 percent) from three-point range and 18-for-25 (72 percent) from the free throw line. New Haven shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half to spark its surge to victory.
 
Gibson dished out five assists, and Stone posted a career-high five blocked shots on the defensive end. Bradford also retrieved five rebounds as New Haven held a 46-42 edge on the boards. Molloy held a 16-9 advantage on the offensive glass, but each team came away with 11 second-chance points. The Lions also owned an 18-16 edge in turnovers.
 
Molloy was led offensively by Kelly Guerriero with 15 points. The Lions' sharpshooter scored 12 in the first half and was held to three points after the intermission. Molloy shot 19-for-67 (28.4 percent) from the field, 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from distance and 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from the free throw line. The 56 points scored by the Lions marks the sixth time this season that New Haven has limited its opponent to fewer than 60 points.
 
The Chargers scored the game's first five tallies and led by a 7-1 count before Molloy rallied to a 9-9 tie at the 13:21 mark in the first half. The Lions extended their lead to eight at 20-12 before Cunningham and Stone each scored four points during a stretch that saw New Haven knot the score at 22-22. The run continued as Bradford converted a fast-break layup and then buried two free throws to push the Chargers in front, 26-22. The Lions struck last in the first half, sending the contest to its intermission with the score tied for the fourth time at 30-30.
 
Molloy grabbed the advantage to begin the second frame with four quick points and extended the lead to five at 38-33. Back-to-back layups from Bradford and Cruso would eventually tie the score and a bucket each way pushed the tally to 43-43 at the 12:36 mark. The New Haven defense then kept the Lions off the board for the next five minutes as the Chargers poured in the next 12 points, including the club's only three-pointer of the afternoon courtesy of Cunningham, en route to a 55-43 lead. Molloy climbed back to within five points at 61-56 with 2:42 to go, but the visitors would not score again. New Haven sank all six of its free throw attempts over the final 36 seconds to seal the win at 69-56.
 
New Haven begins the cross-divisional portion of its Northeast-10 schedule on Jan. 8 with a visit from Saint Anselm. The Wednesday matinee from Charger Gymnasium tips off at 1:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live in high definition and free of charge on NewHavenChargers.com.