RINDGE, N.H. – The University of New Haven women's basketball team battled to the final second against Franklin Pierce, but a game-tying three-pointer was ruled to be shot a split-second too late as the Chargers fell to the Ravens 62-59 in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win, the Ravens improve to 9-4 overall and are 7-3 in the NE-10. New Haven falls to 13-3 with a 7-3 conference record.
 
Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) led the Chargers with 19 points and grabbed six rebounds along with dishing four assists. Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) added 11 points and four assists for New Haven. India Dotson (Akron, Ohio/Frederick (Md.) / Monmouth University) contributed with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
 
A tight battle throughout, neither team held more than a six-point advantage during the contest, which featured 19 lead changes and eight ties. With the score knotted at 6-6, UNH went on a quick 5-0 run, capped by a Cruso trey to take its largest lead of the night at 11-6 with 12:39 remaining in the first half. The Ravens took a slim one point advantage on a layup by Kara Charette with 8:26 to go in the frame. From that point forward, neither squad enjoyed more than a single-point lead for the remainder of the stanza, eventually going into halftime tied at 30-30.
 
The second half remained a close-knit affair before FPU opened its largest lead of the game at 58-52 on a layup by Dyamond Gardner with 5:02 remaining. The Chargers went to work right away as a pair of jumpers by Hayes sandwiched a Dotson Layup to tie the game at 58-58 at the 2:34 mark. New Haven took a 59-58 lead on a free throw by Hayes with 1:54 left, but it would prove to be the final point of the night for the Blue and Gold.
 
On the strength of a layup and two free throws, Franklin Pierce held a 62-59 lead with four seconds remaining. Off the inbound from the two free throws, Cruso drove to the top of the key and drilled a three-pointer that appeared to tie the game, but it was ruled that the shot came a split-second after the final buzzer, sealing the win for Franklin Pierce.
 
New Haven continues its road swing when the Chargers travel to Bentley on Wednesday, January 21 for a Northeast-10 Conference tilt at 5:30 p.m.