WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) tied a New Haven single game record with six three-pointers, but the Chargers dropped an 80-77 overtime contest to the Merrimack Warriors in front of nearly 500 fourth graders from West Haven elementary schools on Class at the Court Day.

With the win, Merrimack is now 7-7 overall with a 3-5 record in the Northeast-10 Conference. New Haven falls to 6-7 with a 2-5 conference mark.

Bradford finished with 24 points on the strength of 6-for-8 shooting from behind the arc, tying the record for treys in a single contest, which had been set on two previous occasions. Alexandria Kerr (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) delivered her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds, five of them on the offensive end. Lauren Hebert (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) had 12 points and India Dotson (Akron, Ohio/Frederick (Md.) / Monmouth University) chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds. Tia Scott led Merrimack with a triple double behind 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

New Haven started the game well, opening a 9-2 lead early in the first period with Kerr netting the first four points to start the run. Merrimack responded, scoring 10 of the next 12 points, taking a 12-11 lead at the end of the frame.

In the second period, the Warriors broke open a close game late in the frame, pushing to a 27-20 lead with 2:29 remaining. After neither team scored in the next 80 seconds, the Blue and Gold closed the gap as back-to-back three-pointers by Bradford sliced the advantage to 27-26 at halftime.

The offense exploded for both teams in the third period as each squad shot better than 50 percent for the quarter and combined to connect on their first six three-point attempts. Bradford led the way with eight points in the stanza including her fourth and fifth triples of the game. After a trey by Hannah Neild put the Warriors on top 46-44 with 2:31 to go, a layup by India Dotson (Akron, Ohio/Frederick (Md.) / Monmouth University) ignited a 15-2 run that extended into the fourth quarter as New Haven opened up a 59-48 lead with 7:34 left in the game.

The Warriors battled back, tying the game at 61-61 on a layup with 4:25 remaining. Neither team was able to break the deadlock down the stretch as the game went into overtime tied at 67-67. Merrimack scored the first basket of the overtime and never trailed in the extra session, holding on for the win.

Prior to taking on Merrimack, the Chargers hosted their fourth annual Class at the Court day. The program, which includes visits to the elementary schools by the basketball team before and after the event, emphasizes math, science and language skills and introduces students, who are at a critical age, to what they need to do to get ready for college.

The event included sessions with UNH professors, staff and students. One session on language arts taught students to write a news story about the game. To learn about science, students toured the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science where they viewed various demonstrations. As part of a math session at the David A. Beckerman Recreation Center, the women's basketball team shot free throws to teach the students how to convert fractions to decimals.

The Chargers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 9 when they will host the Bentley Falcons in a Northeast-10 game at 3:30 p.m.