GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: December 6, 2022
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LOCATION: Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium
Bridgeport, Conn. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
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WHAT'S ON TAP
The battle of I-95 looms for the New Haven women's basketball team as they look for their first win away from the friendly confines of Charger Gymnasium on Wednesday night against in-state rival Bridgeport.
SCOUTING NEW HAVEN
Defense wins games! It has been a yearly goal to hold opponents to a low scoring output and this year is no different as the Chargers enter Wednesday night limiting their opponents to just 59.7 points per game. On the flip side, it has been a few years since we have seen an offensive minded New Haven team, but through the first four games this season, the Chargers are scoring at an average of 71.8 ppg, putting their margin of victory at 12.2 ppg with a 4-2 record in the early going. Leading those efforts is graduate guard Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) who is averaging a conference-best 21.0 points per game, including a career-high 30 points in the season opener against Georgian Court. Her co-captain Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) has both offense and defense on her mind as she is second on the team averaging 14.8 ppg, while one of three players in the NE10 who is averaging a double double as she is pulling down a conference best 11.5 rebounds per outing. In addition, Deshaies leads all NE10 players with her 68% shooting percentage (41-of-60) with all of her points coming from inside the three-point arc. Rounding out the leading scorers for the Blue and Gold is senior point guard Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy) who is averaging 11.3 ppg, while leading the team with 27 assists. Defensively, it is senior guard Marigona Bacaliu (Worcester, Mass./Putnam Science Academy) who leads the team with 17 steals, while New Haven has 56 on the year and has turned the 107 turnovers they have forced into 114 points, including 28 alone last time out against Franklin Pierce.
SCOUTING BRIDGEPORT
A first year member of the CACC, Bridgeport opened up its season 3-1 before dropping three straight games. Their most recent outing came on Saturday when they defeated Bloomfield 73-64, however the Purple Knights are playing back-to-back nights with the New Haven game the second of those contests. For the season, The Purple Knights are being outscored by three points per game and outrebound by just over one per game. Leading Bridgeport on the year is freshman guard Amani Melendez who is averaging 13.9 ppg, shooting 42 percent (39-92) overall and 50% from the arc (23-46). Two other players are averaging double digits with sophomore hometown first Brianna Meekins at 12.8 ppg and senior center Stephanie McBride at 10.6 ppg. McBride also leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game and has a team-high nine blocks.
SERIES HISTORY vs BRIDGEPORT
·        New Haven and Bridgeport meet for the 66th time in the history of the two programs on Wednesday.
·        New Haven holds a 37-28 record in the previous 65 games, including winning the last seven straight meetings.
·        New Haven opened up the series on fire, winning 10 of the first 11 meetings against the Purple Knights, with the series dating back to the 1976-77 season.
LAST TIME THEY MET
New Haven and Bridgeport were scheduled to meet last season but missed the opportunity due to CoVID shutdowns. Prior to that, they met during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, beginning on the Purple Knights home court. Those two meetings were the first in the series since March of 2008, which was the third of three meetings during the 2007-08 campaign. Last year, New Haven took a low scoring battle, 55-42, against Bridgeport, part of four-straight wins to open up the 2019-20 season. Neither team shot better than 33 percent for the day, while New Haven struggled from outside the arc where they finished 0-12. Leading the Chargers on the day was Micah Wormack who finished with a double double, putting up 15 points and pulling down 16 boards. She was one of four players in double figures.
THE BEST OF THE BEST
With her 15 first half points against Franklin Pierce on Saturday, December 3, graduate guard Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community), and team captain, became the 21st player in New Haven women's basketball history to score 1,000 points, joining an elite club of Chargers. She is the first player to reach the plateau since Micah Wormack did in 2020. At her current rate of 21.0 ppg, DeBose could quickly climb the all-time scoring list and graduate among the top-10 in program history. With 1,008 points heading into tonight's game, DeBose can move up one position with just 14 points against the Purple Knights.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Chargers will play a second straight game against Purple Knights, this time the Saint Michael's Purple Knights when they head to Colchester, Vt. on Saturday, December 10. The game will be the first of two before breaking for finals and the holiday stretch, and both of which will come in NE10 play. Tip-off from Saint Michael's Ross Sports Center is slated for 1:30 p.m. with all of the action available live on NE10 NOW.
