BOX SCORE GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) scored 18 of her 27 points in the second half as the University of New Haven women's basketball team rallied to an 85-81 win in its regular-season finale on Tuesday at Adelphi. The Chargers will host Assumption on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in a Northeast-10 Championship Quarterfinal matchup.
 
With its third consecutive win, New Haven ends the regular season at 18-8 overall and 13-7 in the Northeast-10. The Chargers, who were ranked No. 8 in the most recent NCAA East Region Rankings, will be the second-seeded Southwest Division team in the upcoming NE-10 Championship.
 
Adelphi, receiving votes nationally and No. 2 on the regional ledger, falls to 20-6 with a 14-6 conference tally. As the top seed in the NE-10 Southwest, the Panthers will host the winner of a First Round game featuring Southern Connecticut State at Franklin Pierce in Sunday's quarterfinal round.
 
Hayes' 27 points, which match a career high, came on 10-for-17 shooting from the floor with a 7-for-8 day at the free throw line. Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) added 15 points, and Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) scored 14. Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) neared a double-double off the bench with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Hayes and Bradford dished out three assists apiece.
 
As a unit, New Haven shot 28-for-71 (39.4 percent) from the field, 2-for-8 (25 percent) from three-point range and 27-for-35 (77.1 percent) at the line en route to its highest offensive output of the season. The Chargers held a 49-43 advantage on the boards and committed 12 turnovers while forcing 15 Panthers' miscues.
 
Kelly Mannix led four Panthers in double figures with 20 points. Sade Jackson notched 15 points with 14 assists.
 
Adelphi scored the first nine points of the game and never trailed in the first half. New Haven got a team-leading nine first-half points from Hayes, but the Panthers' offense continued to click over the opening 20 minutes. A three-pointer from Jackson just before the buzzer sent the Chargers into the locker room facing a 47-32 deficit.
 
After the Panthers struck first in the second half to open up a game-high 17 point cushion, the Blue and Gold poured in the next eight points to climb back within single digits at 49-40. A Mannix triple promptly rebuilt the Adelphi lead at 52-40 and the home team held a 58-48 advantage with 12:54 to go.
 
At that juncture, the Chargers accounted for the next seven points, capped by a Hayes three-point play to climb within one possession at 58-55 with 11:09 to go. Two minutes later, a pair of LeBlanc free throws and a Hayes jumper pushed New Haven in front for the first time at 63-62 with 9:15 remaining.
 
After the lead was traded four more times, a Jackson bucket with 4:09 left in regulation staked Adelphi to a 75-70 lead and the hosts held on to the advantage out to a 77-73 count. Bradford answered with the Chargers' first three-pointer of the evening, and Moore followed with another trey to put the New Haven back on top, 79-77. The next four points went to the Panthers on field goals from Mannix and Jackson, as Adelphi regained control at 81-79 with less than one minute remaining.
 
On the next Chargers' possession, Moore drew a foul and sank two free throws to tie the game for the final time at 81-81 with 45.8 seconds to go. After the New Haven defense came up with a stop, Hayes was fouled while elevating for the rebound and buried her two attempts from the stripe to give the Chargers an 83-81 lead with the shot clock turned off. Adelphi missed two contested shots on the possession, and Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) hit a pair of free throws to complete the comeback and seal the 85-81 victory.
 
The Chargers shot 16-for-31 (51.6 percent) from the floor in the second half en route to their largest comeback of the season. Tonight's contest is the fifth time that New Haven has overcome a double-digit deficit in an eventual victory.
 
New Haven hosts its first-ever Northeast-10 Championship Quarterfinal on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. with a visit from Assumption – the third seed in the NE-10 Northeast.