No. 24 New Haven vs. Pace
Saturday, Feb. 14 - 1:30 p.m.
West Haven, Conn. - Charger Gymnasium
Game Coverage: Video | Live Stats
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Opening Tip
No. 24 New Haven aims for its eighth straight win when it wraps a three-game homestand by hosting Pace on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 1:30 p.m.
Last Time Out
The nationally-ranked No. 24 University of New Haven women's basketball team erased a double-digit first half deficit as the Chargers pulled away from the Le Moyne Dolphins 80-64 in a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division matchup on Tuesday evening at Charger Gymnasium.
For the fourth time in five games, the Blue and Gold placed five players in double-figure scoring led by 23 points from Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy), who also topped New Haven with nine rebounds. Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) added 14 while Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) contributed with 11. Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) and Lauren Hebert (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) shined off the bench for the Blue and Gold with 13 and 10 points respectively.
The Chargers struggled from the floor early as 3-for-10 shooting to go along with four turnovers allowed the visitors to jump out to a 25-9 lead less than eight minutes into the contest. A three-pointer by Moore ignited a 13-2 run, during which Moore scored seven points to cut the Le Moyne lead to 27-22 with 6:24 remaining in the half. After a layup by Bath-Sheba McMahon put the Dolphins up by seven, New Haven went on a 12-5 run, highlighted by six points from Hayes to tie the game at 34-34 with 1:12 to go in the frame.
In the second half, defense propelled the Chargers as New Haven held Le Moyne to just 31 percent shooting in the stanza and forced nine turnovers. The game was still tight with just over 11 minutes to play when Cruso hit her first triple of the night to tie the game at 54-54. From there, the Chargers scored 23 of the next 26 points, nine of them from Cruso and held the Dolphins 1-for-11 shooting with five turnovers during the span to pull away.
For the game, New Haven committed just eight turnovers, giving the ball up a mere four times in the final 33:46 of the contest.
Scouting Report
Pace enters play with a 11-13 record overall and is 5-11 in the Northeast-10. Most recently the Setters dropped a 61-47 decision at Saint Rose on Wednesday night.
Senior guard Margo Hackett leads Pace at 12.0 points per game and enters the game with 978 career points, while hitting 36.1 percent of her three-pointers and shooting 88.7 percent from the line. Freshman guard Gabriella Rubin is also averaging double-figures in scoring at 11.0 points per game.
Carrie Seymour is in her 24th season as the head coach of the Setters. The two-time WBCA District 1 Coach of the Year has guided her teams to 10 NCAA tournament times and has a career record of 416-257.
All-Time Series
Saturday is the 28th all-time meeting between New Haven and Pace with the Setters holding a 21-6 series lead. Head Coach Ty Grace is 2-1 in her career against Pace.
20-Win Mark
With their 80-64 win against Le Moyne on Feb. 10, the Chargers reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2007-08 season when they were members of the East Coast Conference. It is the eighth time in the 40-year history of the program that New Haven has reached that level.
Off To A Good Start
The 17-3 record that New Haven accumulated earlier this season is the best record through 20 games since the 1988-89 team also went 17-3. That squad started 12-3 before winning 16 games in a row, prior to finishing the year 28-4. The best start through 20 games in school history belongs to the 1986-87 National Champions who after beginning the year 1-2 did not lose the rest of the way.
Happy at Home
The 2014-15 season marks the third time that New Haven has started 10-0 or better at home. The 1986-87 and 1987-88 squads both accomplished the feat. The 86-87 unit went a perfect 15-0 at Charger Gymnasium including a run through the NECC Tournament and its first round NCAA Tournament game against Stonehill.
Making Her Case
Aquillin Hayes is making a strong case for NE-10 Player of the Year. The senior is second in the conference in scoring at 17.8 points per game and has gone off for 20 or more points on 12 occasions, the most in the conference this season. She is also fifth in the NE-10 in rebounds at 9.5 a game. Her contributions on the defensive end cannot be ignored either as Hayes, the 2014 NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, has blocked 32 shots this season, making her the only player in the conference in the top-6 in PPG, RPG and BPG. She has also earned four Player of the Week awards, tied for the most in the NE-10 this season.
Up Next
New Haven travels to Springfield, Mass. for its final road game of the regular season to take on American International on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m.
