TRUJILLO ALTO, Puerto Rico – A 10-1 stretch early in the fourth quarter erased a six-point fourth quarter deficit and helped lift the University of New Haven women's basketball team to a 60-58 overtime victory over the Upper Iowa Peacocks on Thanksgiving afternoon at the Puerto Rico Clasico.
Leading the Chargers for the fourth straight game was senior guard Alexandria Kerr (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) who finished with a season-high 24 points, her second game of the season with 20-plus. Overall, Kerr was one of two players in double figures as Allieyah Cubbage (North Plainfield, N.J./Roselle Catholic) joined her with a dozen points.
"We were down late in the fourth quarter and we stepped up, locking down on defense," said head coach Deborah Buff. "Luzdali kept the team composted throughout the fourth and overtime and Alex stepped up to our challenge at halftime. Both were amazing down the stretch, especially Alex who finished with 24 points and eight rounds, hitting some bigtime free throws."
Kerr's senior leadership showed especially in the fourth quarter and overtime where she scored 15 of her 24 points, eight in the fourth quarter and seven in the overtime. Her seven points in the extra period all came before the Peacocks would get on the board as she went 4-for-4 at the free throw line and drained a three pointer for a 58-51 lead with 2:06 remaining.
For the game, Kerr's 24 points came on 8-of-18 from the field and 6-of-8 at the free throw line with a pair of her eight field goals coming from beyond the three point arc. Cubbage finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field on 5-of-10 while also hitting both of her free throw attempts. As a team, New Haven shot 34.8 percent, connecting on 23 field goals in 66 attempts. Just three of the buckets came from long range with the Chargers scoring 22 points in the paint.
A back-and-forth rebounding battle fell in favor of the Blue and gold with a 43-42 advantage at the final buzzer. Leading the way was junior Micah Wormack (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) who finished with 10 while Kerr added eight. In total nine different players contributed in the rebounding game while 15 of the 43 boards came on the offensive glass with the Chargers turning those rebounds into 23 second chance points.
Defensively, New Haven forced the Peacocks into 23 turnovers, the fifth time in as many games that the Chargers have forced 20 or more turnovers from their opponent. From those 23 Upper Iowa turnovers, New Haven net 23 points while surrendering just nine points on its own 15 points.
The Chargers will close out their oversea trip on Friday afternoon when they take on the Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Opening tip at Ruben Zayas Montanez Coliseum is set for 2:00 p.m. EST.
