WEST HAVEN, Conn. – With her first ever 30-point performance graduate captain guard Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) led the New Haven women's basketball team as they defeated visiting Georgian Court 78-71 to tip-off the 2022-23 season.

DeBose was one of three players to tip the double-digit scale on the night, joined by seniors Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) and Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy) who each finished with 17. Among King's 17 points were a trio of three pointers, two of which came in the fourth quarter as she came up clutch in the fourth quarter providing a lead the Lions would be unable to recover from.

"Cam [DeBose] has a monster game, while KP [King] and Ro [DeShaies] hit big shots down the stretch for us" said head coach Debbie Buff. "Georgian Court is very athletic, but we were able to get stops and hit big shots down the stretch. We were prepared and stayed together during their runs. I'm proud of the team for their first victory"

Overall, New Haven finished the game shooting 44.4 percent from the field, connecting on 24-of-54 from the field. Included were four three point field goals with DeBose adding the fourth to King's three. The Chargers also capitalized at the line where they were 26-of-37 on the night, led by DeBose going 13-of-14.

New Haven will return to action on Wednesday evening when they host the second of three-straight home games to open the season, this time around welcoming the Adelphi Panthers to West Haven for the Northeast-10 Conference opener. Tip-off at Charger Gym is slated for 5:30 p.m. with all of the action available on the Charger Sports Network.

FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·         DeShaies would net the first bucket of the season for the Blue and Gold, connecting with King just 15 seconds into the action.

·         The Chargers opened up the game scoring on their first two possessions and built an early six point, 11-5, at the six minute mark.

·         The would match that advantage three more times in the half, the final of which came with 1:52 to play thanks to a layup from Deshaies, again off a feed from King.

·         The Lions would pull back to even the score at the first intermission

SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·         New Haven would again score first in the period, this time around with Marigona Bacaliu (Worcester, Mass./Putnam Science Academy) scoring on a layup 13 seconds into the frame.

·         This time around it would be the Lions who would take the next lead, as much as three, 27-24 with 7:36 to play.

·         Trailing 27-25, the Chargers would co on an 8-0 run that turned the score into a six point advantage for the home team. All eight points in the run would come from DeBose on three field goals, including a three pointer, and a free throw.

·         The Lions answered by scoring 11 of the final 13 points of the half to take a 38-35 led into he halftime break.

·         The eight points from DeBose would lead four players who got in on the scoring action in the period, while she closed out the half with a game-best 17 points as the only player in the game to hit double figures in the opening 20 minutes.

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·         For the third straight period, the Chargers would strike first with a layup from Deshaies sparking an 8-0 run to open the second half and take a 43-38 lead with 7:26 to play in the period.

·         The Lions would muster the next six straight points to take a one-point lead but it would be the first and only lead in the third period.

·         New Haven responded to that Lions run with one of their open, opening up their largest lead of the game with 91 seconds to play before the break. A three pointer from King would provide the 54-46 margin and cap off what was six unanswered for the Chargers.

·         Georgian Court would manage to cut the Charger lead to three going into the final intermission.

FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·         Georgian Court would manage to score the first points in the fourth, netting the first two buckets before the Chargers answered with a bucket from Bacaliu.

·         After trailing by three with 6:45 to play in the game, the Chargers erased that deficit and never trailed again, with the final lead change courtesy of a fast break three pointer from King.

·         With a two-point lead and just under four minutes to play, the Chargers began what would be five straight points to take a seven points lead with 64 seconds remaining. It was once again King that provided that margin with her second three pointer of the quarter.

·         Down the stretch the Chargers would finish it out at the line, making five of their final six attempts to secure the victory.