WEST HAVEN, CONN. - The University of New Haven women's basketball team picked up a huge 71-63 upset victory over their crosstown rivals, the Southern Connecticut Owls, in their final home game of the regular season. The win sends the Chargers to 9-14 on the year as their conference record rises to 4-13. In a game that had no shortage of action, New Haven worked their way up to a ten point lead in the first quarter after allowing a three-pointer to start the contest. Leading the Chargers on offense was Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community), who finished with 18 points after shooting 6-13 () from the field, while reaching double-digit scoring in 18 of the 23 games this season. The senior guard also tallied six rebounds and four assists in addition to three steals in the win, extending her streak to 17 games while only being held to zero points once this season. Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) dominated the paint, racking up a 17 point-10 double-double in which she shot 8-12 (). The junior forward has grabbed ten or more rebounds in 14 of the 22 games she's played in as she averages a double-double on the season with 11.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) put up 11 shots, making six of them, to end with 16 points while draining three three-pointers. Briana Van Cleaf (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy) enjoyed an 11 point-six rebound performance which included some timely shots including a three-pointer off an assist from DeBose with less than three minutes left to give the Chargers a six point lead. Coming one point short of being the fifth Charger with double-digits was Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy), who, while only nine points, did a little bit of everything by racking up eight assists and five rebounds. King's eight assists is a new career-high for the junior guard, breaking her previous record of seven on Feb. 8 against Saint Rose.

The Owls were held to 22-61 (36.1%) shooting from the field while shooting 14-36 (38.9%) from behind the perimeter. The Chargers ended the game shooting 28-57 (49.1%) while shooting 8-17 (47.1%) on three-point attempts. SCSU shot 5-6 (83.3%) from the line as opposed to New Haven, who went 7-12 (58.3%). New Haven forced Southern into 16 turnovers with five Chargers recording a steal, including King who recorded three steals while Deshaies led with two blocks.

The Chargers turned those turnovers into 15 points on the other end while Southern Connecticut scored 20 points off of turnovers. The Chargers outrebounded the Owls, 38-34 while dominating the paint, 36-12. SCSU scored nine points on second chance opportunities while New Haven scored seven.

FIRST HALF

• New Haven started hot, starting the game on a 15-5 run.
• Pergola hit two three-pointers in that span, finishing the first quarter with eight points.
• DeBose was on fire in the first half, shooting 4-6 from the field including 2-3 from beyond the arc.
• DeBose racked up 12 first half points while totaling two assists and three steals.
• Deshaies dominated the paint in the half, finished with a seven point-six rebound performance.
• Then junior forward also recorded two assists in the first half.
• Van Cleaf scored five points while five points to go with four rebounds.
• King did a little of everything in the half, tallying seven points, five assists and four rebounds.
• Both Pergola and DeBose hit a pair of three-pointers while King drained one, herself.
• DeBose and King led the defense with three steals, each.
• DeBose's steal with 7:56 left in the second quarter extended her streak to 16 games.
• New Haven outrebounded the Owls, 19-17, while outscoring them 18-8 in the paint.
• New Haven shot 15-30 (50.0%) in the half and 10-16 (62.5%) in the first quarter.
• SCSU went 11-29 (37.9%) from the field in the first half.
• The Chargers shot 5-11 (45.5) from the perimeter while the Owls shot 5-15 (33.3%).
• Southern made three of their four free throws while New Haven went 4-7 (57.1%).
• New Haven scored ten points off turnovers and three on second chance opportunities while SCSU scored nine and four, respectively.

SECOND HALF

• Deshaies continued to pound the paint, scoring ten points in the second half.
• The junior forward also racked up four rebounds, two of which came on offense, as well as two blocks.
• Leading the Chargers on the boards in the closing half was DeBose, who grabbed six.
• DeBose also tallied six points, two assists and three steals.
• Pergola once again played the role of the closer, scoring eight points and assisting on a basket, as well.
• The graduate guard also recorded a steal and a block on defense.
• Van Cleaf played a key role in the second half, putting up six points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Van Cleaf's three-pointer off an assist from DeBose with less than three minutes left to give the Chargers a six point lead.
• King was held to two points but assisted on three shots.
• Southern shot 11-32 (34.4%) from the field.
• New Haven finished with a 13-27 (48.1%) second half.
• SCSU went 9-21 (42.9%) from beyond the arc while New Haven went 3-6 (50.0%).
• New Haven went 3-5 (60.0%) from the line while the Owls went 2-2.
• SCSU outscored the Chargers off turnovers, 11-5, while the Chargers outscored the Owls in the paint, 18-4.
• New Haven scored four points on the fast break and on second chance opportunities.

WHAT'S NEXT
After playing their final home regular season game this year, the University of New Haven women's basketball team will hit the road for the last road trip of the season, starting with Adelphi. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 1:30 P.M. at the Center for Recreation and Sport on Saturday, Feb. 19.