WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) recorded her fourth double-double of the season as the nationally-ranked No. 24 University of New Haven women's basketball team defeated Pace 83-73 Saturday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium. LeBlanc scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, including five offensive board, for the double-double.

New Haven improves to 21-3 overall and 15-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference, securing the program's first 15-win conference season since joining the NE-10 in 2008-09. Pace drops to 11-14 overall and 5-12 in conference play.

Off the bench, Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) scored a team-high 18 points on 3-of-9 from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 at the charity stripe. Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) added 16 points, five rebounds and four steals, while Rykema Stone (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) contributed 11 points and five boards. Lauren Hebert (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) was the fifth player in double figures with 12 off 4-of-6 from the floor and 4-of-4 at the foul line.

Pace was led by 20 points from Christina Rubin and 15 points from her sister Gabriella Rubin.

The Chargers nearly doubled up the Setters on the boards, leading 41-23. New Haven's 21 offensive rebounds created 25 second-chance points as well. The Chargers also forced 20 Pace turnovers and recorded nine steals. UNH shot 41 percent (25-61) from the field, 29.4 percent (5-17) from downtown and for the second time this season shot over 90 percent from the foul line, going 28-for-31 or 90.3 percent.

New Haven and Pace went nearly basket for basket in the first five minutes of the opening stanza. The Setters were sparked by a three-pointer from Christina Rubin and opened a 13-8 lead with 13:01 on the clock. After battling back to even the score at 13-13, the Chargers once again went back-and-forth with the Setters for the next five minutes. A Bradford trifecta at the 7:11 mark, evened the game at 23-23 for the sixth time in the first half. The Chargers used the momentum as part of an 18-12 run to end the half in order to hold a 38-32 lead at the break.

The Setters quickly closed the gap in the opening minutes of the second half and took the lead just over three minutes in. The game remained close for the first 10 minutes of the second half as neither team led by more than three points during the stretch. Thanks in part to a free throws from Bradford and a part of buckets from Hebert, the Chargers opened a 62-56 lead with 8:29 left. The lead didn't last long as a 7-0 run by Pace gave the Setters another lead. The game was tied for the final and 16th time of the game at the 4:36 mark. The Chargers then finished strong with a 15-5 run to secure the win by 10 points.

New Haven returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 18 in its final road trip of the regular season at American International. Game time in Springfield, Mass. is set for 5:30 p.m.