WEST HAVEN, Conn. – With over 550 fourth-grade students, faculty and administrators from West Haven Public Schools in attendance, the University of New Haven women's basketball team defeated Saint Anselm, 65-51, to conclude the second annual "Class at the Court" event on Wednesday afternoon. Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) scored a team-high 20 points for the Chargers.
 
With its fourth consecutive victory, New Haven improves to 10-3 on the season and 5-2 in the Northeast-10. The Hawks drop to 8-6 overall with a 4-5 NE-10 mark.
 
Bradford netted her 20 points off the bench on 5-for-8 shooting from the floor with two three-pointers and a perfect 8-for-8 day at the free throw line. She scored 17 points in the second half. As a unit, New Haven shot 24-for-54 (44.4 percent) from the field, 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from beyond the arc and 14-for-20 (70 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) recorded her sixth double-double of the season and second in a row with 18 points and a game-leading 12 rebounds to guide the Chargers to a 39-34 advantage on the glass. Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) added 10 points, including eight after the intermission. Down low, Rykema Stone (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) had six points and Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) scored five with each post player also coming away with six rebounds. New Haven rounded out its 65 points with two apiece from Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly), Audrey Cunningham (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) and Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen).
 
Defensively, the Chargers held their opponents below 60 points for the sixth time this season. The Hawks were led by a game-high 21 tallies from Candace Andrews as Saint Anselm shot 19-for-55 (34.5 percent) from the floor, 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) from distance and 12-for-15 (80 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
A six-point Saint Anselm cushion at 14-8 marked the largest lead in a first half that featured seven ties and three lead changes. A Bradford trey cut the deficit in half and started New Haven on 10-2 run to take a two-point edge, and the squads traded buckets to a 24-24 tie with 3:38 remaining in the frame. The Hawks broke the deadlock with the final four points to bring a 28-24 advantage into the locker room.
 
The style of play continued into the second period up to a 41-40 count in favor of the visitors with 9:10 remaining. At that point, the Blue and Gold poured in seven consecutive points capped by a Moore three-pointer to grab a 47-41 lead that they would not relinquish. The Chargers sealed the win with an 18-3 run to open up their largest advantage of the game at 65-47. The Hawks added four late points to bring the tally to its final of 65-51 in favor of New Haven.
 
During their current four-game winning streak, the Chargers have twice erased a halftime deficit en route to victory and are scoring 40.5 points per game in the second half.
 
New Haven continues its trek through the Northeast-10 Northeast Division on Saturday, Jan. 11 with a trip to Assumption for a 1:30 p.m. contest.