MANCHESTER, N.H. – Alexandria Kerr (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) had career-highs with 27 points and five three-pointers, but the University of New Haven women's basketball team dropped an overtime heartbreaker, 62-59 to the Saint Anselm Hawks in a Northeast-10 Conference game on Saturday afternoon. The Chargers are now 5-14 overall and 4-10 in the NE10.

Both teams struggled to score at the outset Saint Anselm held a lead late in the first quarter before Alexandria Kerr (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) scored with four seconds left to give New Haven a 12-11 lead at the end of the period. Trailing 17-12 midway through the second, The Chargers went on an 11-0 run to take a 23-17 lead, capped by a Kim Talley (Quakertown, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) jumper, eventually going into halftime with a 25-19 advantage.

In the second half, Saint Anselm tied the game at 30-30 before Kerr connected on her third three-pointer of the night. The Hawks went on a 12-0 run to take a 42-33 lead before Kerr beat the third quarter buzzer with another triple. Trailing 44-36, New Haven went on an 8-0 run to tie the game with 6:36 left in regulation. Neither team held more than a two point lead through the end of the second half as the game went into overtime tied at 55-55.

In the extra session, a pair of free throws gave the Hawks a 57-55 lead before jumpers by Khayla Trowell (Temple Hills, Md./Elizabeth Seton Catholic) and Sade King (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon / Hampton University) put New Haven up 59-57 with 1:45 left. A pair of back end free throws by Saint Anselm tied the game before Candace Andrews scored the game-winner on a driving layup and subsequent free throw with 10.5 seconds left. New Haven's tying three-pointer was blocked, allowing the Hawks to escape with the win.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Kerr led the Chargers with her career-high point total, connecting on 9-for-18 shots from the field. Her five three-pointers were one shy of a school record.
• New Haven went 12-for-13 from the free throw line in the game.
• The Chargers outrebounded the Hawks 41-38 including 15-11 on the offensive glass.

FIRST QUARTER NOTES

• New Haven trailed for the entirety of the quarter before forcing a rushed shot by the Hawks with 14 seconds left in the period. The Chargers took advantage as Kerr hit a jumper just inside the arc to beat the buzzer to give the Blue and Gold a 12-11 lead at the end of the period.
• Kerr scored five points in the quarter, going 2-for-2 from the floor.
• The Chargers committed just one turnover in the frame.

SECOND QUARTER NOTES

• After Saint Anselm scored the first six points of the period, New Haven went on a 11-0 run to take a 23-17 lead with 2:06 remaining before halftime.
• The Chargers connected on six of their last 10 shots from the field in the quarter.
• The Blue and Gold had seven offensive rebounds in the stanza, three by Katia Oge (New City, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Academy).

THIRD QUARTER NOTES

• Kerr connected on her career-high third triple of the game at the 4:26 mark to break a 30-30 deadlock.
• Following that basket, the hawks went on a 12-0 run to take a 42-33 lead in the waning minutes of the period. With the clock winding down after a pair of free throws by Saint Anselm, Kerr dropped her fourth trey of the game, with the buzzer sounding as the ball went through the net, to cut the edge to 42-36 at the end of the half. 

FOURTH QUARTER NOTES

• With the Hawks leading 44-36, the Chargers turned up the defense again, forcing three turnovers as part of an 8-0 run to tie the game on a Micah Wormack (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) jumper at the 6:36 mark. Allieyah Cubbage (North Plainfield, N.J./Roselle Catholic) scored four of the points in the span.
• New Haven went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the period.

OVERTIME NOTES:

• After a Hawks layup, the Chargers got back-to-back baskets from Trowell and King to go up 59-57.
• Saint Anselm held a 7-2 rebounding advantage in the frame.

UP NEXT

The Chargers play the second of back-to-back road games when they travel to American International for a Northeast-10 Conference game on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Tipoff from Butova Gymnasium in Springfield, Mass. is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.