No. 20 New Haven vs. Saint Rose
Saturday, Feb. 7 - 3:30 p.m.
West Haven, Conn. - Charger Gymnasium
Game Coverage: Video | Live Stats

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
New Haven continues Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division play, looking for its sixth consecutive win when it Saint Rose Saturday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium. Tip-off at Charger Gymnasium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Last Time Out
Led by five players in double figures, the nationally-ranked No. 20 University of New Haven women's basketball defeated Southern Connecticut State 82-75 Wednesday night at Moore Field House. Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) scored a team-high 15 points, while Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) recorded her second consecutive and third double-double this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The victory marked the third straight game the UNH has been powered by five players in double-figures. Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) netted 14 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) chipped in with 11 points, while Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) finished with 10.

New Haven shot 43.1 percent from the floor, 55.6 percent from three-point territory and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe. The Chargers out-rebounded the Owls 47-39, including a 28-21 advantage on the defensive glass.

New Haven jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, but the Owls crawled back with a 7-1 run to tie the game at 11-11 at the 13:58 mark. The teams exchanged the lead before SCSU took control and pulled ahead 24-15 after a 12-0 run. The momentum swing back in favor of the Blue and Gold as the Chargers regained the lead with an old fashion three-point play from Bradford with 7:04 on the clock. In the final five minutes of the first half, New Haven led by as many as three, but took a 36-35 advantage into the locker room.

The Chargers took control in the first five minutes of the second half and led 44-37 with 3:37 gone in the period. UNH held the lead for the entire second half, but the Owls tied the game at 75-75 with 1:12 left. The Blue and Gold then connected on 7-of-8 free throw attempts and played shutdown defense in the closing seconds to secure its fifth-straight victory.h 13 seconds left and Cruso capitalized with the offensive opportunities.

The Chargers' game at Merrimack concluded UNH's NE-10 Northeast Division crossover play and the Chargers went 7-1 against the counterparts. New Haven also concludes the month of January with a record of 8-1.

Scouting Report
Saint Rose enters Saturday with a 10-11 overall record and a 6-9 record in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Golden Knights opened February with a win over American International on Wednesday after finishing January with a 5-4 record.

Mariah Lesure leads Saint Rose with 11.4 points per game, while the senior forward adds 4.8 rebounds and a team-best 55.6 shooting percentage. Jamie Hutcheson and Staci Barrett both contribute 10.8 points per game, while Hutcheson also leads the way with 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per outing.

In her 14th year as head coach at Saint Rose, Karen Haag boasts a career record of 195-193.

All-Time Series
Saturday marks the 13th meeting between the Chargers and Golden Knights. The Chargers hold a 7-5 lead in the all-time series and have won the last five meetings. New Haven and Saint Rose are 3-3 all-time at Charger Gymnasium.

Cold Month, Hot Play
The Chargers went 8-1 in January with their only loss being a three-point setback at Franklin Pierce. New Haven came within a tenth of a second of possibly having an undefeated month when a game-tying three-pointer from Elizabeth Cruso against the Ravens was released just after the buzzer. 

Five and Ten
For the third game in a row, New Haven placed five players in double-figure scoring at Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday. The last time the Blue and Gold had five players score 10+ points in back-to-back games was Jan. 7 and 11, 2012 against Merrimack and Franklin Pierce. 

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. 

Up Next
New Haven continues NE-10 Southwest Division play when it hosts Le Moyne is the second of three straight home games on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Game time is 5:30 p.m. at Charger Gymnasium.