New Haven (16-6, 11-7 NE-10) vs. American International (15-8, 9-8 NE-10)
Feb. 19, 2014 – 5:30 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 completes the home portion of its regular season schedule with a pivotal visit from American International. With a win, the Chargers will clinch the No. 2 seed in upcoming Northeast-10 Championship.
 
Last Time Out
New Haven finished on a 27-6 run over the final 11:48 of action to surge past visiting Pace, 56-42, on Saturday afternoon.
 
Aquillin Hayes led the Chargers with 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
Rykema Stone added eight points, four blocks and a game- and career-high 13 rebounds as New Haven earned a 48-44 edge on the baords.
 
Lauren Hebert and Briana Bradford each chipped in with eight points to lead the New Haven reserves to an 18-3 scoring advantage over the Pace bench.
 
The Chargers trailed at the half, 25-23, and faced a 36-29 deficit with 11:48 to play. However, New Haven finished the game with a 27-6 stretch to earn their 16th victory of the winter.
 
Margo Hackett led the Setters with a game-leading 18 points. Kirsten Dodge posted eight points with 11 rebounds.
 
The 42 points allowed by the Chargers marked a season-best defensive effort.
 
New Haven Notes
With a win tonight, New Haven would clinch second place in the Northeast-10 Southwest Division. In doing so, the Chargers would also reach their highest overall win total (17) since joining the conference beginning in 2008-09 and secure the program's first-ever Northeast-10 Championship Quarterfinal home game. A victory in either of the club's last two regular season outings would clinch the team's best conference winning percentage in six seasons of Northeast-10 play (.600)
 
After recording a double-double in both ends of a 1-1 week, Aquillin Hayes was named the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 10. Hayes averaged 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game in NE-10 Southwest Division contests against Southern Connecticut State and Saint Rose this past week. She shot 63.3 percent (19-of-30) from the field and 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from the free throw line while adding 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
 
Hayes is the first Charger to earn Northeast-10 Player of the Week laurels since Helin Marte shared the honor with Bentley's Kim Brennan on Feb. 1, 2010. Nikki Carroll also garnered an NE-10 Player of the Week nod on Dec. 22, 2008 during New Haven's first season as a member of the conference.
 
This season, Hayes has recorded 10 double-doubles en route to a team-high 14.3 points per contest and ranks second in the Northeast-10 with 10.0 rebounds per game. Hayes, who posted a team-leading seven double-doubles last winter, netted a career-high 27 points at Saint Michael's on Jan. 14 and matched her personal best on Jan. 25 at Stonehill.
 
Hayes also 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.
 
New Haven has limited 11 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 35.7 field goal percentage as well as a 32.0 three-point percentage while committing an average of 15.6 turnovers per game against the Blue and Gold's defensive pressure.
 
The Chargers rank third in the Northeast-10 with 62.0 points allowed per game. Offensively, UNH slots sixth in the NE-10 with 68.7 points per game.
 
New Haven has twice overcome an 11-point deficit en route to victory. The Chargers stormed past Davis & Elkins after trailing by 11 points on Nov. 29 and came back from 11 down at Saint Rose on Feb. 8. The Blue and Gold also erased a 10-point margin in the Dec. 22 win at Southern Connecticut State.
 
Bria Moore has scored in double figures in 15 games this winter, including a streak of seven outings in a row from Nov. 26 to Dec. 22. The 2011-12 Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year averages 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest this season.
 
This season, Briana Bradford has surpassed 20 points in four games en route to 12.7 points per contest. 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. She was a Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team selection last winter.
 
Audrey Cunningham is the sixth Charger to knock down 100 treys in her career. She currently stands tied for fifth-place all-time with Lauren Hood, who hit the century mark from distance in a career spanning from 2005-09. Cunningham is in the midst of her third active season with the Blue and Gold. Becky Snow is the program's all-time leader with 235 triples during her Hall of Fame tenure with the Chargers from 1996 to 2000.
 
The eight teams that have defeated the Chargers this winter currently boast a combined record of 132-54 (.710). Among those teams, Bentley is the unbeaten No. 1 ranked team in Division II at 23-0, while Rollins (21-4) checks in at No. 18. Additionally, Stonehill and Adelphi are currently receiving votes and have both been nationally ranked during the 2013-14 campaign.
 
At 16-8 in her first campaign, Head Coach Ty Grace is the seventh first-year coach in program history to improve the team's win total from the previous season. Grace is the 16th head women's basketball coach all-time (including Deborah Chin, who had no predecessor when she founded the program in the 1975-76 season). The largest improvement by a first-year coach was Mimi Walters' 20-10 season in 2002-03 after taking the reins of an 11-15 squad.
 
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 Northeast-10 Conference for the first time since 2009-10.
 
In the Northeast-10
Adelphi (12-5 NE-10) is one win or one New Haven loss shy of clinching the Northeast-10 Southwest Division crown. The Chargers (11-7) can lock up second place with a win over AIC (9-8) on Wednesday. If the Yellow Jackets win at Charger Gymnasium, they will control their own destiny for second place with two games left in the regular season.
 
In the NE-10 Northeast, Bentley stands alone at 18-0 as part of a 23-0 overall record for Division II's top-ranked team. Stonehill owns a one-game cushion in second place at 13-5 against conference foes. Third-place Franklin Pierce checks in at 11-7.
 
Up Next
New Haven concludes the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 25 with a trip to Adelphi for a 7:30 p.m. contest. The Chargers were edged by the Panthers, 84-81, on Dec. 7 in West Haven. Details regarding New Haven's postseason schedule will be announced NewHavenChargers.com as they are finalized by the conference office.