GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: Feb. 14, 2022 LOCATION: Dana Center, Waltham, Mass. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

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OPENING TIP
The University of New Haven women's basketball team picked up their eighth win of the season, a 49-36 victory over the AIC Yellow Jackets on Saturday, their second win in last three games. The Chargers will only travel an hour and a half to Waltham for a date with the Bentley Falcons on Valentine's Day.

INSIDE THE SERIES
History has favored the Falcons when these two compete as the Chargers trail 5-31 in the series. Last time these programs met was on Jan. 14, 2020 when the Chargers took down #19 Bentley, 53-40. The first time they met was on Nov. 26 1983 and resulted in a 60-80 loss for New Haven.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
The Chargers enter this weekday matchup against Bentley looking to win their second straight game after defeating the American International Yellow Jackets, 49-36, on Saturday afternoon.

The win raises the Chargers to 8-13 on the season, as well as 3-12 in conference play. After starting the game shooting 1-12 (8.33%), the Chargers battled to a win while locking down the Yellow Jackets, allowing a season-low 36 points.

Leading the offense in a highly defensive battle was Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) who finished the game with a 14 point-14 rebound double-double. The junior forward shot 6-12 from the field while on her way to her seventh double-double of the season. Deshaies has now pulled down 11 or more rebounds in 13 of the 20 games she has played in as she averages 10.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Nearing a double-double herself was Briana Van Cleaf (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy), who finished the game just shy with 10 points and nine rebounds in the winning effort. Van Cleaf's defense also played a big part in the team's win as she led the team with three steals.

Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) did a little bit of everything in the victory, tallying eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy) only took two shots in the game, draining a three-pointer for her lone make. The junior guard also went a perfect 2-2 from the line while recording four rebounds. Also held to a three-pointer as her lone field goal was Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community), who finished with three points, four rebounds and an assist. Despite falling out of the top ten in NE10 scorers with 13.6 points per game, DeBose continues her defensive streak of 15 consecutive games with a steal.

Freshman Bianca Pendleton (Accokeek, Md./New Hope Academy) scored four points and Bionca Chambers (Bronx, N.Y./New Milford) scored three, both of which scored all their points from the line, while the latter also racked up six rebounds and two assists. Rounding out all New Haven scorers was Gabrielle Stickle (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt), who scored her lone points on a layup in the first quarter off a Pergola assist.

New Haven forced the Yellow Jackets into 17 turnovers with Van Cleaf, DeBose and Chambers leading the defense with the latter recording two steals, as well. 

The Chargers turned those turnovers into 16 points on the other end while American International scored 10 points off of turnovers. The Chargers outrebounded by the Yellow Jackets, 49-29 while also outscoring AIC 20-10 in the paint, as the team now ranks fifth as a team in total rebounds (38.3) while ranking third in offensive boards (13.0) and 11th in defensive rebounds (25.3).

New Haven ranks 12th in the conference with 57.5 points per game but they are also sixth in the NE10 with 61.3 points allowed per game. The Chargers shoot 36.9 percent on the year while allowing opponents to shoot 37.5 percent. 

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The Falcons enter the matchup 13-6 on the season and 11-4 during conference play, as they are on a one-game losing streak after falling to NE10 rival Southern New Hampshire, 81-69, over the weekend.

On offense, Bentley is led by graduate forward Autumn Ceppi, who averages 13.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Ceppi is also 107-219 from the field, this season for a conference fourth-best 48.9 percent. 

Ceppi racked up a 23 point-eight rebound performance while shooting 11-19 in the loss to SHNU on Saturday.

Junior guard Ella Thompson averages 13.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game while leading the team from beyond the arc, shooting 47-129 (36.4%). Also on offense is senior guard Kari Brekke who averages 10.3 points on 47.6 percent shooting. Brekke ranks fifth in the NE10, shooting 47.6 percent while her 42.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc ranks first in the conference.

Ceppi and Maggie Whitmore have totaled over 100 rebounds so far on the season, the latter pulling in 115 with 34 coming on offense.

The Falcons have seen seven players start at least one game this season with the most recent lineup being Ceppi, Thompson, Brekke, Whitmore and Amanda Kabantu.

On defense, Bentley averages 8.7 steals and 3.6 blocks per game. The Falcons have eight players with 10+ steals on the year, with Ceppi leading the team with 32. Ceppi is also the Falcon's lead shot blocker, with 16 on the season while Kolleen Bouchard follows close behind with 13.

Bentley ranks second in the conference with an average of 69.3 points per game, while shooting a first best 43.6 percent from the field. The Falcons allow an average of 57.9 points per game to their opponent on 39.9 percent shooting. As a whole, they rank eighth in the conference, averaging 37.9 rebounds for a +6.9 margin.

Bentley boasts a diverse roster comprised of eight guards and four forwards. The class makeup is divided into three freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors, three seniors, and one graduate student.

After 18 years working on the staff of Naismith Hall of Fame coach Barbara Stevens, including four as the associate head coach, C White was promoted to Head Women's Basketball Coach at Bentley University in June 2020.

A 2001 graduate of Bentley, White has been involved with the Bentley basketball program for 23 of the last 24 years, beginning as a point guard for the Falcons from 1997-2001. She was a part-time assistant the year following her graduation and after a year on the Harvard University staff, returned to her alma mater before the 2002-03 season as Stevens' top aide.

NEXT UP
The Chargers will return home for their last regular season game at Charger Gymnasium as they will host cross town rival Southern Connecticut for an Elm City rematch. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 5:30 P.M. on Wednesday, Feb. 16.