No. 23 New Haven vs. Philadelphia
Friday, March 13 - 2:30 p.m.
NCAA East Region Championship First Round
Garden City, N.Y. - Center for Recreation and Sports
Game Coverage: Video | Live Stats
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball East Region Championship Information
Opening Tip
No. 23 New Haven continues its championship season as the second-seeded team in the East Region when it takes on seventh-seeded Philadelphia University in the First Round of the NCAA Division II East Region Championship on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
Last Time Out
Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) recorded a double-double behind a season-high 16 points and 12 rebounds, but the American International Yellow Jackets rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to upend the nationally-ranked No. 21 University of New Haven women's basketball team 76-73 in a Northeast-10 Conference Championship semifinal on Friday evening at Charger Gymnasium.
In addition to LeBlanc's effort, Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) scored a team-high 21 points. Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) added 10 points and three steals.
Krista Ferrentino scored a game-high 26 points and added nine rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets.
The Chargers started off strong and built a 13-8 lead less than five minutes into the contest. After a Ferrentino layup sliced the New Haven lead to a bucket at 19-17, the Chargers went on a 14-6 run and opened a 33-23 advantage prior to holding a 35-27 lead at halftime.
As the second half opened, AIC started to chip away at the New Haven lead in part to the three-point shooting of Brianna Bishop, who hit six treys in the frame. Trailing 45-39, the Yellow Jackets went on an 8-0 run which was capped by a Bishop three to take a 47-45 lead.
The Chargers recovered to open a 62-54 on a layup by Cruso with 7:16 remaining. Still trailing by five with 1:55 remaining, AIC made the game's final push. Back-to-back threes by Bishop and a layup by Kamika Mason put the Yellow Jackets on top 76-73 with 22 seconds left. New Haven had an opportunity for the last possession, but could not get a shot away, allowing AIC to escape with the win.
Scouting Report
Philadelphia is 22-8 overall and eanred its spot into the East Region field via an at-large selection. The Rams finished second in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division and advanced to the CACC championship game before falling 79-75 to cross-town rival Holy Family University.
Four players average double-figure scoring for the Rams led by All-CACC First Team honoree Najah Jacobs at 19.7 points per game, a figure which was good for third in the conference. All-Conference Third Team members Monica Schacker and Bria Young come in at 13.7 and 11.2 points per game respectively. Alex Heck is the fourth player in double figures, netting 10.1 per contest. Tori Arnao tallies 8.6 points a night and leads Philadelphia with 9.9 rebounds per game.
Consistency has been a big key to the success of the Rams this season. Five players have started 25 or more games and four players average 29.9 or more minutes per night.
One important key to beating the Rams is limiting their ability from beyond the arc. They rank 11th in NCAA Division II shooting 37.8 percent as a team from three-point range. Jacobs and Schacker rank third and fifth in the CACC, shooting 40.6 and 39.0 percent from long distance respectively.
Head Coach Tom Shirley is in his 26th season with Philadelphia and holds a record of 534-246 with the school. In 34 seasons overall, he has ammassed 683 wins, making Shirley one of just 41 women's basketball coaches to surpass the 600-win mark.
All-Time Series
Philadelphia leads the all-time series 6-0. The Chargers and Rams played twice a year from the 2002-03 through 2004-05 seasons as members of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference, but have not played since.
Rank and File
With its entry into the top-25 on Feb. 24, New Haven made its first appearance in the USA Today/WBCA NCAA Division II poll since Feb. 26, 1989. It currently ranks No. 23 in the poll released on 3/10/15.
Lining It Up
The Chargers have excelled at the free throw line down the stretch and into the postseason. During the last ten games, they have hit 77.2 percent at the charity stripe, raising their team total to 72.6 percent overall, the fourth highest in the NE-10. Not only has New Haven earned an 8-2 record during the span, but it has averaged 20.7 points per game at the line since Jan. 29.
Tasting Postseason Success
The win against Assumption was the first postseason triumph for the Chargers since Feb. 28, 2010 when the eighth-seeded Chargers were victorious in a Northeast-10 Conference Championship First Round game against ninth-seeded Southern Connecticut State, 81-65. Nicole Pollard led New Haven with 22 points while Dominique Stellmacher added 18 points and six rebounds.
Earning Their Rewards
New Haven senior guard Aquillin Hayes was named both the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year as voted upon by the NE-10's 15 coaches. She was also voted as one of two unanimous selections to the All-Conference First Team (Tori Faieta - Stonehill). It is the third time that a player has been honored with both awards in the same season and the first time since Wanda Maynard-Morris from Pace in 2001-02. Additionally, Briana Bradford and Bria Moore were selected as All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Changing The Culture
The senior quintet of Elizabeth Cruso, Aquillin Hayes, Ashley LeBlanc, Bria Moore and Rykema Stone have led the revitalization of the New Haven women's basketball program. They have improved from 3-24 as freshmen to 23-5 as seniors. The 20-win improvement is the largest four-year turnaround in NE-10 history, surpassing the 2000-01 Merrimack women's basketball team that went 12-15 before elevating to a 31-4 record and an appearance in the NCAA Semifinals in 2003-04.
Up Next
The winner of the New Haven-Philadelphia game will face the winner between third-seeded District of Columbia and sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce on Saturday, March 14 at 5:00 p.m.
