#25 New Haven vs. Southern New Hampshire
Thursday, Jan. 29 - 7:30 p.m.
West Haven, Conn. - Charger Gymnasium
Game Coverage: Video | Live Stats
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Opening Tip
New Haven looks for its 10th win in 11 games as it hosts Southern New Hampshire on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Charger Gymnasium.
Last Time Out
After building a 17-point second half lead, the #23 New Haven women's basketball team withstood a furious comeback from #5 Stonehill as the Chargers held on for a thrilling 72-71 victory against the Skyhawks in a Northeast-10 Conference contest at Charger Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) led the Chargers with 23 points and eight rebounds, adding two blocks, two assists and a steal. Rykema Stone (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) and Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) contributed 14 points apiece off the bench with Stone collecting six rebounds and dishing three assists. Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) helped the cause with seven points and seven rebounds.
After Stonehill jumped to a quick 5-2 lead, New Haven responded with a 20-6 run that lasted more than nine minutes. The Chargers held the Skyhawks to just 2-for-15 shooting and forced four turnovers during the span. The last five points of the spurt for New Haven came from Stone who converted back-to-back layups, capped by a free throw to put the Blue and Gold up 22-11. New Haven kept the pressure on, extending the lead to 33-19 on a jumper by Hayes with 3:46 remaining in the first half before taking a 37-26 lead into the break. Defensively, The Chargers held Stonehill to just 20.6 percent from the field during the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, the Skyhawks came out firing, starting the frame on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 39-34 less than three minutes in. New Haven answered the challenge, scoring 10 unanswered to extend the lead to 49-34 with 15:13 to go in the stanza. Just more than a minute later, a layup by Moore rounded out a 14-2 run to give the Chargers their largest lead of the night at 53-36 with 14:05 on the clock.
While the Stonehill did not go quietly, New Haven held the Skyhawks at arm's length, leading 71-61 on a Hayes jumper with 5:29 to go. From there, the visitors flexed their muscle, going on a 10-1 run to close the gap to 72-71 with 3:11 remaining. At that point, the two defenses shined as neither team scored a point the rest of the way. With nine seconds left, Stonehill had an opportunity to win the game following a missed free throw, but a runner from Paige Marshall bounced off the back of the rim, allowing the Chargers to complete the upset.
Scouting Report
Southern New Hampshire comes into the contest 10-10 overall and is 4-9 in the Northeast-10. The Penmen enter Thursday's tilt having dropped two games in a row, most recently an 85-68 setback against Le Moyne.
Vic Wiseman leads SNHU in scoring and rebounding at 11.7 points per game and 6.4 boards a contest. While no other member of the Penmen scores in double figures, three more players average better than eight a night as Brooke Springfield, Sara Ryan and Erin Doherty net 9.0, 8.9 and 8.6 per game respectively.
Karen Pinkos is in her 10th season at the helm of the Southern New Hampshire with a career record of 118-153.
All-Time Series
Thursday will mark the 65th all-time meeting between New Haven and SNHU with the Chargers holding a 34-20 series lead. The 64 previous times the two schools have played is the second most games against any opponent in New Haven women's basketball history. Head Coach Ty Grace is 1-0 against the Penmen.
Getting Noticed
The New Haven women's basketball team has been recognized by the Northeast-10 Conference in all-but one week this season with four different players honored. Aquillin Hayes has been the conference Player of the Week three times, including the past two weeks (11/17, 1/19, 1/26) and appears on the honor roll five times (11/24, 12/1, 12/8, 1/5, 1/12). Lauren Hebert (12/1, 12/22) and Bria Moore (12/8, 12/22) have been on the weekly honor roll twice and Elizabeth Cruso (1/5) appears on the honor roll once this season.
It's Been A While
In a span of just four days, New Haven ended the two longest losing streaks for the program. The Jan. 21 win against Bentley was the first for the Chargers 17 tries, dating to Dec. 12, 1988. Against Stonehill on Jan. 24, New Haven ended a 21-game losing streak and topped the Skyhawks for the first time since Nov. 27, 1990.
Giant Slayers
New Haven's win against Bentley is the third for New Haven against a defending national champion in school history. In the 1987 national championship game, the Chargers beat 1986 champion Cal Poly-Pomona 77-75 and on Jan. 3, 1989, New Haven upended Hampton 68-53.
Up Next
New Haven travels to Merrimack on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
