RINDGE, N.H. – Junior Micah Wormack (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) banked in a turnaround jumper to beat the buzzer at the end of regulation to force overtime, but the furious rally by the New Haven women's basketball team ultimately fell short in a 69-63 overtime loss at Franklin Pierce on Wednesday. Senior Alexandria Kerr (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) (18 points) and freshman Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) (12 points) both scored in double figures, while Wormack and senior Katia Oge (New City, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Academy) scored eight points apiece. Junior Kim Talley (Quakertown, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to lead the team.
New Haven (13-8, 6-7 NE10) outscored Franklin Pierce 40-28 in the paint and 22-14 off turnovers, but the Ravens (4-14, 2-11 NE10) held advantages of 43-36 in rebounds and shot 45.5 percent, while limiting the Chargers to 36.2 percent from the field.
"We went into this game saying anybody could beat anybody in the NE10," said head coach Deborah Buff. "We knew we had to stay out of foul trouble, but were unable to do that. This is a big learning experience for us. Everyone around the league knows we're a good team this year they are coming for us. We need to match their energy on the road and I thought Franklin Pierce played with more urgency than us tonight. I'm very disappointed, but we've got a lot of season left."
FIRST QUARTER
· Kerr scored five unanswered points to give the Chargers the early 5-2 lead three minutes in.
· Wormack scored four straight to start a 7-0 run for the Chargers, taking a pass underneath in transition from Pergola, then adding a put-back layup to go up 9-6.
· Pergola found Oge with a long pass, that Oge finished for two and drew a foul, giving New Haven the 12-6 lead after hitting the ensuing free throw with 3:11 to play.
· Kerr extended the run to 10-3 with her second three-pointer of the opening frame to make it 15-9.
· Pergola grabbed a steal then went coast-to-coast for two, then found Oge on the next possession up ahead in transition with 18 seconds left. Oge hit the layup and drew the foul to complete the three-point play and give New Haven a 20-12 lead after one.
SECOND QUARTER
· DeBose broke a Charger scoring drought of just over three minutes with a layup to increase the lead to 24-16 at the 5:01 mark.
· DeBose added one free throw to match the largest lead of the half at nine, 25-16, before the Ravens ripped off 11 of the next 13 points over the final 3:31 of the half and knot the game at 27 going into halftime.
THIRD QUARTER
· Franklin Pierce opened up the second half with two long field goals to go up 32-27 before Talley ended the 16-2 spurt with a pair of free throws.
· Franklin Pierce responded with their second triple of the quarter to build a 35-29 lead, prompting a Chargers timeout at 6:38.
· Sydney Richard (Hooksett, N.H./Bradford Christian Academy) provided an immediate spark off the bench, creating a tie-up on defense, then drilling a long jumper coming out of the timeout to get within 35-31.
· After another FPU hoop, New Haven scored six straight to retie the game. Kerr stayed in bounds while grabbing steal on the sideline, which led to Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) finding Tally on the break for the tying layup at 3:56.
· After five straight from the Ravens, New Haven once again got within 42-39 after a Kerr steal in the defensive end led to a fastbreak bucket as Luzdali Ocasio (Davenport, Fla./New Hampton) found Wormack streaking down the lane.
FOURTH QUARTER
· The two teams traded blows each time down the floor to start the fourth. DeBose opened the fourth with a trio of layups after maneuvering through the lane, each time getting New Haven within two, but the Ravens answered with three treys of their on to maintain a four-point, 49-45 cushion.
· Kerr answered with a layup to get within 49-47, only to see the Ravens answer on the next possession to go back up four with 6:47 to play.
· After a scoring drought of over two-and-a-half minutes, Oge countered a Pierce basket with a layup underneath and Kerr hit a pull-up jumper from the foul line make it a two-point game once again with 3:34 on the clock.
· Franklin Pierce connected on a huge step-back two pointer to push it to 55-51, then came away with a steal with 2:03 on the clock. New Haven forced a long look at the end of the shot clock, but the Ravens were able to draw a foul and hit both free throws to lead 57-51 with 1:34 left.
· DeBose sparked the New Haven rally with a three-pointer from the left corner with 1:21 to play, then came away with a huge steal near midcourt. She then dished a pass to Richard, to swished home the tying three from the left wing to knot the game up at 57-all with 59 seconds left.
· Kerr put New Haven on top with a layup with 18 seconds left, only to see the Ravens storm back when Sophia Holmes drilled a three-pointer at the other end to go up 60-59 with just six seconds left.
· The FPU defense drew an offensive charge with two seconds left. After fouling and sending the Ravens to the line with 0.7 seconds left, where they hit one free throw, New Haven called timeout to advance the ball into the front court, trailing 61-59.
· Talley found Wormack just outside the lane on the inbounds. Wormack spun to her left and banked it in off the window as time expired to force overtime, sending the Chargers' bench into a frenzy.
· New Haven shot 10-for-15 in the fourth quarter, including 2-of-3 from downtown.
OVERTIME
· The Ravens scored the first four points of overtime.
· The Chargers kept battling and broke through with two free throws from Kerr with 1:40 left to get within 61-59.
· The Ravens grew the lead back to four with two free throws with 40 seconds left, and added two more after a missed three by New Haven with 13 seconds remaining.
New Haven will return to Charger Gymnasium to start a two-game homestand beginning this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Southern New Hampshire.
