BOX SCORE WEST HAVEN, CONN. - The University of New Haven women's basketball team dropped their first non-conference game after coming just short against the Chestnut Hill Griffins, 61-66, on Sunday afternoon. The loss sends the Charger back below .500 on the season as they fall to 5-6. The star of the show for the Chargers today was Briana Van Cleaf (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy) who caught fire from the perimeter, draining four of her six attempted three-pointers. Van Cleaf finished with a career-high 19 points on 64 percent shooting while pulling down eight rebounds. Junior forward Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) recorded a 14 point-11 rebound double-double, her fourth double-double of the season. Deshaies has now tallied 11+ rebounds in six consecutive games and in nine games in total. Senior guard Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) scored a season-low 11 points, making her only attempted three-pointer while going 6-8 from the line. DeBose has scored double-digit points in each one of her games to start the year, as she averages 16.2 points to rank eighth in the NE10 amongst scorers. Luzdali Ocasio (Davenport, Fla./New Hampton) made a pair of three-pointers while splitting her free throws to finish with seven points in the contest. Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) was held to one made field goal but still made valuable contributions with five rebounds and five assists. Pergola ranks 10th in the conference with 3.2 assists per game.

The Griffins shot 18-56 (32.1%) from the field while making eight of 22 attempts from the three.  In game that saw nine lead changes, free throws were once again vital in the game as the Chargers went 12-17 (70.6%) from the line, while the Griffins went 22-23 (95.7%). New Haven forced Chestnut Hill into 20 turnovers, while totaling 9 steals, in addition to three blocks. Leading in defensive stats was Van Cleaf and Bionca Chambers (Bronx, N.Y./New Milford) who each tallied a steal and a block while DeBose, Ocasio and Pergola each recorded two steals. The Chargers outscored the Griffins on the fast break, 21-18.

As a whole, the squad shot 21-56 (37.5%) from the field, while going seven of 15 (46.7%) from beyond the arc. New Haven was outrebounded by the Griffins, 41-36, to break a five-game streak of the Chargers dominating the paint. Despite being outrebounded, the Chargers handily outscored the Griffins in the paint, 28-18.

QUOTE FROM BUFF:
"We felt very prepared and played extremely hard. We had a couple of starters in early foul trouble which hurt. Chestnut Hill is a very good basketball team and we had a chance to win. I am proud of the growth of this team over the past 2 weeks. We can build on today moving forward after Christmas break. La [Ocasio] was stellar on defense and forced 11 turnovers and took four charges from their point guard on her birthday. Excited to get back to work after the break."

FIRST HALF

• Van Cleaf and Deshaies each totaled eight points, all in the first quarter, and seven rebounds in the first half.
• The team made five three-pointers in the first half with Ocasio and Van Cleaf each draining a pair.
• Van Cleaf hit back-to-back three-pointers in the first quarter, both came off assist from Pergola.
• Pergola and Deshaies had three assists each, a career-high for the later.
• Pergola, Alyssa Stevenson (Watertown, N.Y./South Jefferson Central) and Lyrik Jackson (Syracuse, N.Y./Syracuse Academy of Science) each ended the half with two points.
• Four Chargers recorded at least one steal, with Gabrielle Stickle (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) leading the way with two.
• Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy) split a pair of free throws to get on the scoreboard.
• Deshaies and Chambers each blocked a shot in the half.
• The Chargers outscored the Griffins 24-18 in the first quarter but were bested in the second, 10-8.
• A Van Cleaf layup with a little over two minutes left in the first quarter gave the Chargers an eight point lead, their largest of the game.
• The Griffins started the second quarter on an 8-3 run to shrink the gap but still trailed, 28-34.
• Chestnut Hill shot 11-30 (36.7%) from the field in the half, including six of 13 from the perimeter.
• The Chargers went 13-26 (50%) while going five of eight from three.
• The Griffins shot 0-1 from the line as opposed to the Chargers who went 1-2 (50%).
• The Chargers scored more points on turnovers, 9-8, while outscoring them in the paint, 16-8.

SECOND HALF

• Van Cleaf continued her offensive assault with another eleven points, including two more three-pointers.
• DeBose finished with second half with eight points, six of which came from free throws.
• Deshaies racked up six points and four rebounds in the final half.
• Pergola was held off the scoreboard but tallied three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Bianca Pendleton (Accokeek, Md./New Hope Academy) had two points and two assists in six minutes of action.
• King was held scoreless but added two rebounds and an assist.
• DeBose, Pergola and Chambers all recorded a steal in the second half while Van Cleaf had two.
• A last second layup by Chestnut Hill in the third quarter put them up five, their largest lead of the game at the time.
• Ocasio was instrumental in the team's comeback attempt as she forced some timely turnovers and offensive fouls.
• Van Cleaf had the hot hand, hitting a three, off a Pendleton assist, with 23 seconds left in the game to cut the deficit to one points.
• Her attempt to tie the game came just short as the Chargers fell, 66-61, after a few closing free throws.
• Chestnut Hill only shot 7-26 (27%) from the field in the half, including two of nine from deep, while the Chargers went eight for 30 (26.7%) while going two of seven from three.
• The Griffins shot a perfect 22-22 from the line as opposed to the Chargers who went 11-15 (73.3%).
• Chestnut Hill scored 10 points off turnovers while the Chargers scored 12.
• The Chargers outscored the Griffins in the paint, 12-10. 
• The Chargers only scored two points on second chance opportunities during the second half, while the Bears scored seven.

WHAT'S NEXT
The University of New Haven women's basketball team will take a break before hitting the road again, but they won't travel far as they take on in-state rival Bridgeport. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Harvey Hubbel Gymnasium on Thursday, Dec. 30.