BOX SCORE WALTHAM, Mass. – In a game featuring 13 ties and 22 lead changes, the University of New Haven women's basketball team was edged in overtime, 92-86, by Adelphi in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II East Region Championship hosted by Bentley.
 
The seventh-seeded Chargers conclude their first season under Head Coach Ty Grace '99 with a record of 18-10. New Haven qualified for the NCAA postseason for the eighth time in program history and the first since 2007. Second-seeded Adelphi, which advances to play third-seeded LIU Post in the semifinal round, improves to 23-7. The Chargers and Panthers split the Northeast-10 regular-season series.
 
Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) netted a career-best 28 points for the Chargers, shooting 11-for-21 from the floor. Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) added 23 points and Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) poured in 16. Collectively, the Blue and Gold shot 32-for-73 (43.8 percent) from the field, 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from the free throw line and 18-for-28 (64.3 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Rykema Stone (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) contributed eight points and nine rebounds, and #Duncanson# added four points and four boards. From the bench, Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) scored four points and Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) notched three.
 
Hayes and Bradford each dished out a team-leading three assists, while Moore and Duncanson had three steals apiece.
 
Adelphi was led by 28 points from Jessica Kitrys and a double-double consisting of 25 points and 13 rebounds by Calli Balfour. Sade Jackson recorded 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for the Panthers.
 
The Blue and Gold claimed a 16-12 advantage in turnovers, and the Panthers countered with a 48-39 edge on the boards.
 
Adelphi scored the game's first five points as a part of a 7-2 run, but the Chargers responded with a 6-1 stretch capped by a LeBlanc jumper to knot the score at 8-8. New Haven soon claimed its first lead of the afternoon on a Moore three-pointer at the 13:16 mark, and the run continued to 9-2 as the Chargers built a 19-14 advantage midway through the half. The margin grew as large as six points, 29-23, on a Cruso trey followed by a Stone free throw with 5:34 to go, but Adelphi surged to a 34-33 edge with less than two minutes to play. Bradford added two free throws and Kitrys answered with one to tie the game at 35-35, and Jackson hit a jumper in the closing seconds of the frame to send New Haven into the intermission facing a 37-35 deficit.
 
Moore and Bradford both reached double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively over the opening 20 minutes. In total, seven Chargers scored in the first half as New Haven collectively shot 13-for-30 (43.3 percent) from the field, 2-for-7 (28.6 percent) from three-point range and 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) from the free throw line in the half. Balfour led all players with 15 first-half points for Adelphi.
 
A Stone layup on the first possession of the second half tied the contest for the fifth time and started the Chargers on an 8-0 run to regain the lead at 43-37. Adelphi responded in kind with eight straight before Stone knocked down a pair form the stripe to pull even again at 45-45 with 15:22 to play. The lead changed hands 14 times over the next 8:13 of action before the Chargers put together a 6-0 stretch to claim a 70-65 lead with less than five minutes to go. Adelphi answered with a 7-1 run to take a 72-71 edge before a short Hayes jumper gave the edge back to New Haven as the clock crept under two minutes to play.
 
On the next Adelphi possession, Jackson would hit 1-of-2 from the line to tie the game at 73-73 with 1:34 to go. Hayes answered with a jumper as the shot clock expired, and a Kitrys layup evened the tally at 75-75. Neither team would convert the potential game-winner in the final seconds, as the contest headed to overtime.
 
The only scoring in the first two minutes of overtime came from the free throw line as Adelphi went 3-for-4 from the line to take a 78-75 lead. Kitrys tacked on a layup and Jackson followed with four at the stripe while New Haven missed its first seven shots of the extra session, falling behind 84-75 with less than one minute to play. Duncanson ended the drought with a steal and layup with 43.7 ticks on the clock and Bradford added a layup and three-pointer to bring the Chargers within five points, 87-82, but the Panthers continued to add points from the free throw line to hold on for a 92-86 decision.
 
The overtime setback concludes a season in the Chargers reached their highest win total (18) since finished at 21-9 in the 2007-08 campaign – their final season prior to joining the Northeast-10. Despite playing two fewer conference games this winter, New Haven also matched the program record of 13 NE-10 wins established last season.
 
Individually, Aquillin Hayes was selected as the Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year and a Second Team All-NE-10 honoree, and Briana Bradford was named an All-NE-10 Honorable Mention. Ty Grace led her team to a four-win improvement from 2012-13 and was the fifth coach in program history to reach the NCAA postseason in her inaugural campaign on the sidelines with the Blue and Gold.