GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Down by as many as 21 points on the road in the third quarter, the New Haven women's basketball team rallied to climb within two points of No. 15 Adelphi before falling 70-66 in a hard fought game on Saturday. The Chargers (10-2, 4-2 NE10) had three players in double figures, led by junior Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) who tied for a game-high with 19 points, six rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Freshman Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) had 16 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) added 12 point and five boards. Senior Micah Wormack (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) had a team-high nine rebounds to go with eight points, and Bionca Chambers (Bronx, N.Y./New Milford) tallied nine points and six rebounds.

The Chargers outscored the Panthers (14-0, 5-0 NE10) 34-16 in the paint and limited Adelphi to 8-of-29 overall and 2-for-12 from three-point range in the second half. For the game, New Haven shot 45.0 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from three-point range, compared to the Panthers 35.5 percent clip overall and 36.1 percent mark from beyond the arc. New Haven also held a 44-34 edge on the boards.

QUOTES FROM THE COACH: DEBBIE BUFF
"Adelphi is a really good team that plays very good defense. You cannot have a bad quarter and have people in foul trouble against them as we did in the first. They were able to get some run-outs and quick shots on us early, in part because our shot selection wasn't great."

"We ran our system in the second half with everyone on the floor and were able to get the ball inside. We were much more disciplined and adjusted to the pace of the game. We could have folded up, but we didn't and I'm proud of our effort in coming from behind like we did."

FIRST QUARTER

• The Panthers took command early with an 8-0 run before New Haven answered with six unanswered of their own to tie the game 8-8 at the 6:02 mark.
• After the Chargers climbed back to within one possession at 17-14, Adelphi used a 12-0 run to end the quarter, including a shot from just inside half court at the buzzer, while holding the Chargers scoreless over the final 4:13.

SECOND QUARTER

• The Panthers stayed hot from the floor and built their lead up to as much as 19 points before New Haven battled back to within 11 following a 7-0 burst, capped by a three-pointer by Pergola off an inbounds pass to make it 39-28 with 2:55 remaining.

New Haven shot 44.8 percent from the floor compared to Adelphi's 42.4 percent, however 11 of the Panthers' 14 made field goals came from behind the arc as they held a 45-30 lead at the break.

THIRD QUARTER

• Adelphi pushed the lead to a game-high 21 points at 53-32 just over two minutes into the quarter, but the Chargers rallied back with a 12-2 run to get within 55-44 with 37 seconds left.
• Pergola started the rally by knocking down a three, Wormack followed with a jumper, then Deshaies added five straight of her own. Wormack ended the period with another jumper in the lane to make it an 11-point game.
• Adelphi was held without a field goal over the final 6:12 of the quarter and scoreless for 5:58 until hitting a pair of free throws with 14.4 seconds left to take a 57-44 lead after three.

FOURTH QUARTER

• New Haven's surge continued with a big 11-3 run to start the fourth, which was part of an extended 23-5 run overall, to climb within 60-55 at the 5:35 mark, forcing an Adelphi timeout.

A three-pointer from DeBose, followed by a jumper from Bionca Chambers (Bronx, N.Y./New Milford) got New Haven within six.

• After getting within five points twice, Pergola used her third three-pointer of the game to make it a two-point game, 62-60 with 3:05 remaining.
• Wormack answered a Panther hoop with a jumper to make it a two-point game once more at the 1:54 mark.
• Trailing by six, Pergola made it a four-point game once again with two free throws with 36.8 seconds left.
• Adelphi hit one free throw before Pergola grabbed a rebound and Wormack found a wide-open Deshaies under the hoop for two at the other end to make it 69-66 with 16.9 seconds remaining.
• The Panthers used one free throw, followed by a defensive stop to hold off the comeback big for the four-point win.

The Chargers will face another tough regional test in their next matchup on Wednesday at Saint Thomas Aquinas, in what will be their final non-conference game of the season.