SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Behind a team-high 21 points from senior Alexandria Kerr (Montclair, N.J./Montclair), the University of New Haven women's basketball team (16-11, 9-10 NE10) scored a 55-52 victory in its final road test of the regular season at American International. Overall, Kerr was one of two players in double figures, joined by junior Micah Wormack (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) who finished with 14 points.

"We played outstanding defense to get win number 16 today," said head coach Deborah Buff. "Alex was great on both ends of the ball and we outrebounded a great rebounding team. Micah was a rebounding machine for us with 17 boards."

Combined, New Haven closed out the game shooting 39.3 percent, connecting on 22-of-56 field goal attempts, while just three of those 22 field goals came from outside the arc. The Chargers also added eight points at the free throw line, none bigger than one by Kerr with 14 seconds remaining that provided the final three-point spread as the Yellow Jackets were unsuccessful on a three point attempt in the final 10 seconds.

The Chargers closed out the game with a commanding 48-28 lead on the boards led by Wormack who closed out a double double pulling down 17 rebounds, her eighth game with double digit rebounds and the second in the last three with 15 or more boards. Among the Chargers 48 rebounds were 17 on the offensive glass as the Blue and Gold turned those into 20 second chance points, outmatching AIC 20-6 in that category.

FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·         AIC came out of the gates to score the first four points of the game and maintained that early lead through the entire quarter.

·         Kerr opened up the Chargers scoring in the game and was one of two players to lead the team through the first 10 minutes with four points.

·         New Haven never trailed by more than three possessions, cutting their deficit down to a single point at the midway points thanks to back-to-back buckets from Wormack.

·         The Yellow Jackets took a six-point lead into the quarter break scoring the final bucket of the period at the buzzer.

SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·         The Chargers defense was unstoppable in the second quarter, holding the Yellow Jackets to just four points on a 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) shooting effort.

·         Trailing by five with 8:19 remaining before the half, the Chargers began what turned into a 10-0 run that resulted in the first and only lead change of the afternoon.

·         The only two Chargers to score during that run were Kerr and Wormack with the latter leading the duo with six of the 10 points.

·         While holding AIC to just four points, New Haven shot 7-of-16 from the field, including a pair of three pointers, one each from Kim Tally and Luzdali Ocasio (Davenport, Fla./New Hampton).

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·         After trailing by eight at the intermission, the Yellow Jackets quickly cut that deficit down to three in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter before Kerr broke the AIC momentum with a pair of free throws.

·         Those two free throws began a stretch of six unanswered points for the Chargers, all of which came from Kerr, which opened up the largest lead to that point, 36-27.

·         New Haven would match that lead three more times in the half, including with 2:03 remaining on a layup from Kerr.

·         The Yellow Jackets responded to that deficit by scoring the final five points of the quarter to trail 40-44 heading into the fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·         AIC kept the pressure on, extending their third-quarter ending run to seven unanswered points, to cut the New Haven lead to a pair, 44-42.

·         New Haven answered with back-to-back buckets from Talley and Oge to regain a six point lead with 6:59 remaining.

·         After trading the next two three pointers, the Yellow Jackets cut the deficit back to three with a three pointer just inside the five minute mark.

·         Both teams would combine for just three field goals the remainder of the game, but it was a free throw with 14 seconds remaining that proved to be the final touch for New Haven. That free throw, which came from Kerr, provided a three-point cushion while a three pointer from the Yellow Jackets with eight seconds remaining was off the mark.

UP NEXT
New Haven will close out the regular season on Tuesday night when they host the Le Moyne Yellow Jackets. Opening tip is slated for 5:30 p.m. at Charger Gym.