GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: November 13-14, 2021
LOCATION: Moore Field House | New Haven, Conn.
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
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OPENING TIP
After missing a season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the New Haven women's basketball team will make their season debut in the SCSU Conference Challenge against the Bloomfield Bears and Georgian Court Lions at Moore Field House in New Haven on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 6:00 PM. The opening tip will put an end to a 630 hiatus between regular season games for the Chargers.
INSIDE THE SERIES
New Haven enters the weekend with a 2-1 lead in the series over the Bloomfield Bears. This will be the first time the two teams play at a neutral site, however, the Bears hold a 1-1 record when playing New Haven on the road. Last time the Chargers played the Bears was Nov. 20,2019 and it resulted in a 64-47 victory for the Chargers.
The University of New Haven women's basketball team has only played the Georgian Court Lions once. The Chargers hosted the Lions on Dec. 20,2015 but the Lions walked away with an 86-74 win.
SCOUTING NEW HAVEN
The Chargers entered the 2019-20 NE10 Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Southwest Division, their second-straight tournament appearance and second year in a row of earning the third seed.
After starting the season 10-1, the second-best start through 11 games in program history, the Chargers ended with their second-straight 18 win season.
New Haven's defense was a consistent force that season for the Blue and Gold, leading the NE10 and ranking 9th in the nation in scoring defense at 53.7 points per game. The Chargers also led the conference and ranked 8th nationally in FG% defense (.335), and rank fourth in the NE10 by holding the opposition to just 29.0 percent from three-point range.
The Chargers look to recapture that magic, having been off the court for nearly two years.
Offensively, the Chargers averaged 56.9 points per game in the 2019-20 season, which ranked 12th in the NE10 that year.
The Chargers also ranked seventh in the conference by shooting 40.8 percent overall and 29.7 percent from the arc, which sat 11th in the NE10.
In the NE10 Preseason Poll, the Chargers were ranked 2nd in the southwest division, edged out by Adelphi for first by one vote.
Notable losses for the Chargers include Micah Wormack, who was an anchor for the team not only on offense but on defense too. Wormack led the Chargers with 12.8 points per game and 7.6 rebounds. She also dominated in the paint with a total of 43 blocks in her last season.
Junior forward
Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) looks to take another step forward after her incredible freshman season. She averaged 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on her way to NE10 All-Rookie Team honors.
Also returning is guard
Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) who ranked seventh in the NE10 with a .384 3-Point FG percentage. She also averaged 3.6 assists per game and ranked fourth on the team in points per game by averaging 9.2 points. She finished the season with two top-10 single season records, having shot 87.9 percent from the free throw line, which ranks second highest all-time in program history, and her 38.4% 3FG percentage ranks 8th all-time.
Head Coach
Debbie Buff enters her third season at the helm of the Blue & Gold. In her first two seasons, Buff (36-21) has led the Chargers to back-to-back 18 win campaigns and an appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference tournament in each of her first two seasons.
SCOUTING BLOOMFIELD
The Bloomfield Bears finished the 2019-20 season with a 5-14 record, with an 0-3 record against NE10 teams. However, the Bears played in 11 games last year, ending with a 6-5 record.
During that season, the Bears were led in scoring by senior forward Jaylah Bennett, who put up 11.8 points per game and averaged 4.4 rebounds, as well.
Also returning for Bloomfield is redshirt-junior forward DaShanique Ruffin, who finished second in the CACC with 8.8 boards per game. Ruffin ended the year with 9.4 points per game, ranking third on the team that season.
Bloomfield lost Alaisha Mumford who lead the team in assists, finishing with over 50 assists in each of the last two seasons.
Bloomfield was ranked fourth in the North Division for the CACC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll.
Bloomfield enters with a small rosters comprised of four guards, six forwards and one center. The roster is made up of two freshman, two sophomores, four juniors and three seniors.
The Bears are led by head coach Vanessa Watson, who embarks on her 4th season at the collegiate level with the start of the 2020-2021 women's basketball campaign. In her first year, Coach Watson led the Bears to a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) regular season championship after winning 15 of her last 18 contests to earn a post-season spot. She currently holds a 36-61 record as the head coach of the Bears.
SCOUTING GEORGIAN COURT
Despite ending with an 8-11 record during the 2019-20 season, the Georgian Court Lions rebounded with an 9-2 season, 7-0 in conference play, last year.
Georgian Court finished last season with three players averaging over ten points a game, led by guard Anyssa Fields, who put up a conference-high 18.4 ppg last season, while also leading the team with 10.7 rebounds per outing.
2020-21 CACC FG% leader, Leighanna Lister is still in the paint for Georgian Court. She averaged 8.2 rebounds per game, fifth most in conference.
The Georgian Court Lions were ranked third in the South Division for the CACC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Lions enter with a large and diverse team, comprised of 11 guards and seven forwards. The roster is made up of four freshman, four sophomores, six juniors, three seniors, and one graduate student.
The Lions are led by head coach Jasmina Perazic enters her seventh season at Georgian Court University. Georgian Court went 10-16 (8-11 CACC) in 2019-20. That campaign follows a year during which the Lions secured their first postseason appearance in 16 years and proceeded to upset #2 Caldwell University (80-63) on the road in the opening round of the CACC tournament .She enters the matchup with a 48-97 record as the head coach of the Georgian Court Lions. In July 2013, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame announced that it would induct Perazic as part of its Class of 2014.
NEXT UP
The Chargers will head to Staten Island for the beginning of a two-game roadtrip. The squad will take on the College of Staten Island Dolphins at The Sports & Recreation Center on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 5:30 PM.
