GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: November 16, 2019 | 6:30 p.m. LOCATION: Charger Gymnasium | West Haven, Conn. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

NEWS NEWS ROSTER ROSTER SCHEDULE SCHEDULE 2019-20 STATS 2019-20 STATS GAME NOTES

OPENING TIP
The New Haven women's basketball team will look to make it two wins in a row to start the season this Saturday night when in-state rival Bridgeport will make the short trip up I-95 to Charger Gymnasium for a 6:30 p.m. tip.
 
The 45th season of New Haven women's basketball got off to a solid start last Saturday with the Chargers 68-57 win over the College of Staten Island.
 
Saturday's game is the second of a four-game homestand to open the season for the Blue and Gold.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
-   The Chargers have bested the Purple Knights in each of their last six matchups, dating back to 2006 when they were both members of the East Coast Conference.
-   New Haven is 36-28 all-time against Bridgeport dating back to their first matchup in 1977.

SCOUTING NEW HAVEN
-    After a sluggish start in the first half of last Saturday's season-opener against Staten Island, the Chargers cranked up the volume in the second half, outscoring CSI 36-21, including 24-7 in the third quarter to claim a 68-57 win.
 
-   Freshman Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) led all scorers with 20 points and added six rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting to earn Northeast-10 Rookie of the Week honors.
 
-   The Chargers had nine different players score at least two points in the game. Micah Wormack (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) (13) and Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) (10) each scored in double figures while DeBose chipped in a team-leading nine rebounds.
 
-   Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) had a career night with career-highs of eight rebounds and six steals. She also tied her career-high mark with six assists. She also chipped in eight points.
 
-   Bionca Chambers (Bronx, N.Y./New Milford) made her Charger debut with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting and three steals off the bench.
 
-   The Chargers were selected to finish third in the Southwest Division in this year's Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches Poll. New Haven returns four players that started in at least 17 games last season.

Reigning NE10 All-Rookie selection Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) was one of two all-conference honorees for the Chargers last season, a freshman campaign that saw her start all 30 games at guard and average 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. She also led the team from beyond the arc where she shot 33.6 percent. She dished out 39 assists and was second on the team with 62 steals.
 
Forward Micah Wormack (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) returns for her senior season after ranking fifth in the NE10 last season with a team-high .527 field goal pct. She was second on the team in both points per game (12.2) and rebounds per game (7.8). She had a career-game with 30 points and 18 rebounds at Pace on February 13, shooting 14-for-22 from the field.
 
Junior point guard Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) started all 30 games last season, scoring at a 7.8 ppg clip, while dishing out 79 assists (2.6 apg), which ranked second on the team. She connected on 36.7 percent of her shots from the floor and added 28 total steals. She reached double-figures in scoring on eight occasions and was first on the squad from the free throw line, where she held a .771 percentage.
 
The Chargers also return senior Kim Talley (Quakertown, Pa./Lansdale Catholic), who made 17 starts at forward last season. She averaged 3.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 40.4 percent from the floor.
 
The Chargers started last season 5-2 through the end of November. They went on to rattle off seven straight wins from Dec. 11 through January 16. The Chargers won their final three regular season NE10 matchups, including a 55-50 win over eventual NE10 Tournament champion Le Moyne in the regular season finale. The Chargers earned the Southwest Division's No. 3 seed in the NE10 Tournament and pulled off a 58-52 overtime upset at No. 2 seed Stonehill in the NE10 quarterfinals, advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2016.
 
SCOUTING BRIDGEPORT
-   The preseason No. 5 pick in the East Coast Conference, UB has opened up the season with a pair of double-digit losses to Southern Conn. State and Saint Anselm, both at home.
 
-   The Knights were outscored 19-4 in the fourth quarter of their 71-55 season-opening loss to SCSU. Against Saint Anselm, it was the middle two quarters that doomed UB, when they were outscored by a combined total of 53-29.
 
-   Five different Purple Knights have reached double figures through the first two games with senior Jaqualah Holliman, junior Kyle Felton and sophomore Gianna Gotti each scoring 10 points against Saint Anselm, while juniors Alyzae Davis (15) and Samirah Henderson (13) both reached double figures against SCSU.
 
-   In total, UB is scoring 61.5 ppg this season, while allowing 82.0 for a scoring margin of -20.5. The team is shooting 35.8 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from the arc.
 
-   Davis is the lone UB player averaging double figures through the first two games with 11.5 ppg, followed by Henderson (8.5 ppg) and Loney (7.5 ppg). Holliman (5.5 rpg) is the team's leader on the glass.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
New Haven took down Bridgeport in last year's season opener, 64-31 down in the Park City. The win marked the sixth straight victory for New Haven over the Purple Knights, dating back over a decade.
 
DeBose and Wormack had big games to lead New Haven. DeBose finished off what was her collegiate debut with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Wormack added 17 points and eight boards.
 
 
LAST TIME OUT
-   New Haven shot 43.5 percent from the floor and dished out 18 assists on 27 made baskets in their 68-57 win over Staten Island.
 
-   The Chargers received quality minutes from up and down its lineup, with nine players registering at least 10 minutes of play, and the bench accounting for 33 of the team's points.
 
-   Defensively, New Haven held the Dolphins to 28.0 percent shooting overall, including just a 5-for-25 clip in the second half. The win marks the third season in a row the Chargers have emerged victorious in the season opener.
 
-   Trailing by three at halftime, New Haven started the second half on an 11-2 run.
 
-   After the Dolphins got within five, New Haven put the game away with an extended 12-0 run to make it 55-40, then added an 8-0 run early in the fourth to build a 20-point lead.
 
-   CSI scored 13 of the game's final 17 points.
 
AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) made quite the splash in her collegiate debut last Saturday, scoring 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and adding six rebounds and one steal. Her efforts earned her the NE10 Rookie of the Week selection, the first Charger to earn the honor since 2017-18 when teammate Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) earned the honor three different times.
 
PERGOLA'S CAREER NIGHT
Junior guard Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) put forth a career night against Staten Island, setting new career-highs with eight rebounds and six steals, and tied her career-high with six assists. She also chipped in eight points.
Her previous career-highs were six rebounds, which she accomplished twice, and four steals (12/8/18 at Le Moyne). She has now reached six assists on three separate occasions.
 
PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Senior Micah Wormack (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) finished last year ranked fifth in the NE10 in field goal pct. (.527), the ninth-highest single season percentage in program history. In Saturday's season opener, she shot just under 50 percent (6-for-13/.462) from the field to score 13 points.

NEXT ON TAP
New Haven will continue its four-game homestand to open the season this Wednesday, Nov. 20 against Bloomfield at 7 p.m.