NCAA Division II East Region Championship Quarterfinals
(7) New Haven (18-9) vs. (2) Adelphi (22-7)
Friday, March 14 – 2:30 p.m.
Waltham, Mass. – Dana Center (at Bentley University)
Live Video | Live Stats | Interactive Bracket
 
Pre-Championship Interview with Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis)
Pre-Championship Interview with Ty Grace (Head Coach)

Complete Championship Information Website

Complete Game Notes (PDF)
 
Opening Tip
The University of New Haven women's basketball team enters the 2014 NCAA Division II East Region Championship as the seventh-seeded team in the region. The Chargers will meet second-seeded Adelphi in quarterfinal action on Friday, March 14 at 2:30 p.m. The entire regional will be hosted by top-seeded and nationally-ranked No. 1 Bentley.
 
New Haven's NCAA Division II Championship History
Highlighted by winning the 1987 NCAA Division II National Championship, the New Haven women's basketball program has made seven previous appearances in the NCAA postseason. The Chargers made four consecutive trips to the national stage from 1986-89, a stretch that encompassed the four-year careers of UNH Hall of Fame student-athletes Joy Jeter and Charlene Taylor.

More recently, New Haven qualified for the NCAA Championship in 2003, 2006 and 2007. The Chargers fell in their opening game in each occurrence, including a loss to eventual national champion Southern Connecticut State in New Haven's most recent NCAA appearance.

2014     Adelphi  Regional Quarterfinal
2007     Southern Connecticut State L, 68-45 Regional Quarterfinal
2006     Stonehill L, 77-70 Regional Quarterfinal
2003     Bentley L, 92-65 Regional Quarterfinal
1989     Bryant W, 94-71 Regional Final
               Bentley L, 76-71 National Quarterfinal
1988     Stonehill W, 85-69 Regional Semifinal
              Bentley W, 50-49 Regional Final
              Delta State L, 97-70 National Quarterfinal
1987     Stonehill W, 72-64 Regional Final
              Hampton W, 65-63 National Quarterfinal
              Northern Kentucky W, 77-74 National Semifinal
              Cal Poly Pomona W, 77-75 National Championship Game
1986     Quinnipiac L, 62-60 Regional Final
 
Scouting Report
A loss to Bentley in the Northeast-10 Championship Game moved the Panthers from Adelphi University to 22-7. The second-seeded Panthers had won eight of their last nine - with the lone defeat coming at the hands of the Chargers - prior to running into the unbeaten Falcons on Sunday.

Jessica Kitrys leads the Northeast-10 with 19.4 points per game and recently became the Panthers' all-time leading scorer. Kitrys is also second in the NE-10 with a .582 field goal percentage. Sade Jackson posts 13.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and a Division II-best 8.0 assists per game.

Adelphi leads the Northeast-10 with 83.0 points per game. Defensively, the Panthers slot ninth with 68.5 points allowed per contest.

Earlier This Season
New Haven and Adelphi split the regular season series in two of the Chargers' highest-scoring games of 2013-14. The Panthers claimed an 84-81 victory on Dec. 7 in West Haven, and New Haven returned the favor in Garden City on Feb. 25 with 17-point second half comeback to take an 85-81 decision.

Aquillin Hayes averaged a team-best 18.5 points per game in two meetings with the Panthers, shooting 51.7 percent from the field. Collectively, New Haven shot 11-for-23 (47.8 percent) from the floor against Adelphi.

For the Panthers, Kelly Mannix averaged a team-leading 22.0 points per game in two meetings with the Blue and Gold. Sade Jackson contributed 16.5 points, and 12.0 assists in the two regular-season outings.

All-Time Series
Following the regular season split, the Chargers are 23-11 all-time against their former NYCAC and ECC rival. The series began with a 55-52 New Haven win in the 1979-80 campaign.

The Chargers lead the series, 6-3, since the clubs reconvened as conference foes in the Northeast-10 beginning in the 2009-10 campaign.

New Haven vs. the Field
The Chargers are 1-5 this season against their fellow NCAA East Region Championship qualifiers. New Haven split the season series with Adelphi, while dropping two to Assumption and one apiece on the road at Bentley and Stonehill.

New Haven Notes
At 18-9 overall, the Chargers have reached their highest win total since a 21-9 record during the 2007-08 campaign. New Haven won the East Coast Conference regular season title in that season, which was the program's last prior to joining the Northeast-10. Despite playing two fewer conference games this winter, the Chargers' 13 NE-10 wins match the program record established last season.

Ty Grace has already registered one of the largest improvements by a first-year head coach on the Chargers' sidelines. With an NCAA East Region Championship berth in striking distance for the Blue and Gold, Grace is the fifth first-year coach to take the Chargers to the national postseason and the third to do so with a team that did not reach the NCAAs in the previous campaign.

In terms of win total and win percentage, the largest improvement by a first-year coach was courtesy of Mimi Walters, who led New Haven to a 20-10 record and NCAA postseason appearance in 2002-03 after taking the reins of a club that finished 11-15 in 2001-02.

Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team All-NE-10 honoree Aquillin Hayes has recorded 10 double-doubles en route to a team-high 15.0 points per contest and leads the Northeast-10 with 10.1 rebounds per game. Hayes, who posted a team-best seven double-doubles last winter, reached a career-high 27 points on three occasions in 2013-14. She is the only player in the Northeast-10 to lead her team in points, rebounds and assists (2.4 apg).

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.

On Feb. 10, Hayes became 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.

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 conference-low 35.9 field goal percentage as well as a 32.5 three-point percentage while committing an average of 15.7 turnovers per game against the Blue and Gold's defensive pressure.

The Chargers rank fourth in the Northeast-10 with 62.9 points allowed per game. Offensively, UNH slots sixth in the NE-10 with 69.4 points per game.

On five occasions, New Haven has overcome a double-digit deficit en route to victory. Most recently, the Chargers erased a 17-point deficit in the second half to defeat host Adelphi, 85-81, on Feb. 25.

Bria Moore has scored in double figures in 16 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 11.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest this season. For her career, she is 77 points shy of becoming the 16th member of the Chargers' 1,000-Point Club.

This season, Briana Bradford has surpassed 20 points in five games en route to 13.3 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 named Honorable Mention All-Northeast-10 this season and merited an NE-10 All-Rookie Team selection last winter.

Audrey Cunningham is the sixth Charger to knock down 100 treys in her career. She currently stands in fifth-place all-time with 102 three-pointers. 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 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.

Up Next
The winner of today's game will advance to the NCAA Division II East Region Championship Semifinals, returning to the court on Saturday, March 15 at 5 p.m. The Chargers or Panthers will meet the winner of the quarterfinal featuring LIU Post and Stonehill.