Highlights (YouTube)

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven women's basketball team scored a season-high 82 points en route to a Northeast-10 victory over visiting Merrimack on Saturday at Charger Gymnasium. Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) shared the game high with 16 points in the 82-70 triumph.
 
With the win, the Chargers improve to 14-6 overall to match their win total from last season and move to 9-5 in the Northeast-10, keeping pace with Adelphi atop the Southwest Division. Merrimack falls to 10-9 on the season with a 6-8 conference mark.
 
Hayes' 16 points came on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to lead four Chargers scoring in double figures. Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) netted 13 points, while Lauren Hebert (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) and Audrey Cunningham (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) each posted personal season highs with 12 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench.
 
New Haven converted better than 50 percent of its shots from the floor for the second time this season at 30-for-58 (51.7 percent). The Chargers went 6-for-15 (40 percent) from three-point range and 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) at the free throw line. The 30 made field goals for the Blue and Gold marked a season best.
 
Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) neared a double-double with nine points to go along with her game-leading 11 rebounds. As a unit, the Chargers earned a 43-33 advantage on the boards. Rykema Stone (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) hauled in eight from the glass, and Hayes collected seven caroms.

Rounding out the New Haven offense were Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) with eight points, Stone with seven, four points for Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) and two from Jasmine Gibson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Spring Valley). Duncanson and Bradford each distributed four assists.
 
Leading the way for Merrimack was Michelle Obach, who matched Hayes with 16 points. Chloe Rothman, the Warriors' leading scorer, was limited to six points while shooting 0-for-12 from the floor. Collectively, Merrimack was 20-for-61 (32.8 percent) from the field with a 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) success rate from three-point range and a 26-for-36 (72.2 percent) showing at the free throw line.
 
The margin stayed within five points for the majority of the first half as the game's four ties and two lead changes all occurred within the opening 15:11 of action. It was a Bradford three-pointer that deadlocked the game at 29-29 with 4:49 to go a started the Chargers on a 12-0 run to build a lead that they would not relinquish. In total, New Haven ended the period on a 19-5 stretch to take a 45-34 lead into the locker room.
 
The lead grew as large as 18 points in the second half at 70-52 on a pair of Hayes free throws with 6:22 left. Merrimack made a final push with an 11-0 spurt to climb within seven points with 3:45 to play, but the Chargers shot 8-for-9 from the free throw line down the stretch to close out an 82-70 victory.
 
New Haven will make a second trip through the NE-10 Southwest Division to conclude the regular season. The six-game stretch begins at Charger Gymnasium on Wednesday, Feb. 5 with a 5:30 p.m. visit from Southern Connecticut State, which will enter the contest at 11-9 overall and 7-7 in the conference following a 59-50 home win over Assumption this afternoon. The Chargers won the first meeting with the Owls, 81-68, on Dec. 22.