GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: Feb. 12, 2022 LOCATION: Henry A. Butova Gymnasium, Springfield, Mass. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

NEWS NEWS ROSTER ROSTER SCHEDULE SCHEDULE STATS STATS GAME NOTES

OPENING TIP
The University of New Haven women's basketball team dropped their most recent game in a 50-62 loss to the Southern New Hampshire Penmen on Thursday. The Chargers will now head to Springfield, Mass. on Saturday for the start of a two game road trip.

INSIDE THE SERIES
History has favored the Chargers in this matchup as they hold a narrow advantage of 22-21 in the series. Last time these two played was earlier this season on Dec. 7 when AIC won 66-54. The first time they met was on Dec. 13 1979 and resulted in a 76-68 victory for New Haven.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
The Chargers enter this weekend matchup against American International looking to get back in the win column after falling 50-62 to the SHNU Penmen on Thursday night.

The loss drops New Haven to 7-13 on the season, as well as 2-12 in conference play. Led by Briana Van Cleaf (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy), who had five first quarter points, New Haven picked up where they left off, shooting 6-10 from the field while only trailing by two going into the second quarter.

The Penmen wouldn't falter as they held on to outscore New Haven 34-18 in the second and third quarters while the Chargers ended the game on a 19-13 run. 

Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) led the offense, shooting 6-13 from the field including 3-4 from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points. The graduate guard also tallied two assists in the loss as she now ranks seventh with 3.1 assists per game. 

Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) put up 10 points on 5-8 shooting but fell short of a double-double, grabbing only eight rebounds, three of which were on offense. Although the junior forward failed to reach her average, she has pulled down 11 or more rebounds in 12 of the 19 games she has played in as she averages 10.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. The latter ranks third in the conference while she also places second shooting 52 percent from the field.

After scoring five points in the first quarter, Van Cleaf finished the game with nine on 4-9 shooting while recording six rebounds and two assists, as well. Despite being held to 2-11 shooting and five points, Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) was still her dominant self on defense, tallying seven steals while also grabbing five rebounds, three of which were on offense. DeBose still ranks within the top ten of NE10 scorers with an average of 14.1 points per game.

After dropping a career-high 25 points last game, Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy) only attempted four shots, draining a three in her lone make, to finish with five points. The junior guard also recorded three rebounds and three assists.

New Haven forced the Penmen into 24 turnovers with DeBose and King leading the defense with the latter recording three steals. DeBose, who came one steal shy of tying her career-high, has now managed a steal in 14 consecutive games.

The Chargers turned those turnovers into 15 points on the other end while Southern New Hampshire scored 12 points off of turnovers. The Chargers were outrebounded by the Penmen, 35-39 despite both teams scoring 22 points in the paint, as the team now ranks ninth as a team in total rebounds (37.8) while ranking fourth in offensive boards (12.8) and 11th in defensive rebounds (24.9).

New Haven ranks 12th in the conference with 58.0 points per game but they are also sixth in the NE10 with 62.5 points allowed per game. The Chargers shoot 37.1 percent on the year while allowing opponents to shoot 38.1 percent. 

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
The Yellow Jackets enter the matchup 9-10 on the season and 6-6 during conference play, as they are on a one-game losing streak after falling to NE10 rival Franklin Pierce, 47-55, over the week.

On offense, American International is led by graduate guard Destine Perry, who averages 14.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Perry is also 44-109 from beyond the arc, this season for a conference fourth-best 40.4 percent. Nora Young averages 9.8 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets while leading the team with 16 blocks.

Kyla Smith and Kayla Robinson average 8.1 points and 8.0 points, respectively.

The Yellow Jackets have seen nine players start at least one game this season with the most recent lineup being Perry, Young, Robinson, Julia Carbonell Munoz, and Zoe Willis

On defense, American International averages 8.9 steals and 2.3 blocks per game.The Yellow Jackets have six players with 10+ steals on the year, with Perry leading the team with 33. Young is the Yellow Jacket's lead shot blocker, with 16 on the season while Carbonell Munoz has 10.

American International ranks 11th in the conference with an average of 59.1 points per game, while shooting a 12th best 36.7 percent from the field. The Yellow Jackets allow an average of 62.9 points per game to their opponent on 39.6 percent shooting. As a whole, they rank 14th in the conference, averaging 31.3 rebounds for a -9.6 margin.

AIC boasts a relatively young roster comprised of 10 guards and four forwards. The class makeup is divided into three freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors, and four graduate students.

Kristen Hutchinson was named the fifth head coach of the AIC women's basketball program on June 14, 2007 and is currently the second-winningest head coach in program history.

The team's win on March 5, 2021 over Franklin Pierce University marked her 400th career victory as a member of the women's basketball team between being a player, assistant coach, and head coach.
 
Under Hutchison, the team has reached the NE10 Championship Tournament in 12 of her 13 seasons, including back-to-back trips to the NE10 Championship Game in 2014-15 and 2015-16. She has never had consecutive sub-.500 seasons either overall or in conference play. Hutchinson enters the matchup with a 219-173 record  (147-131 NE10).

NEXT UP
The Chargers will stay on the road in Massachusetts as they will head to Bentley to face off with the Falcons for the first time this season. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 5:30 P.M. on Monday, Feb. 14 at the Dana Center.