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GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: Feb. 25, 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 ended the regular season on a good note, picking up a huge 87-76 victory over the Franklin Pierce Ravens on Monday. Now that the regular season has concluded, the Chargers are set to faceoff with the Bentley Falcons in the first round of the NE10 Championship on Friday at 6:00 PM.

INSIDE THE SERIES
New Haven will look to defy the odds as history has favored the Falcons in this series as the Chargers trail 5-32 all-time. The Chargers were handed a 61-80 loss in their last meeting on Feb. 14, 2022. This series dates back all the way to 1983 when the Falcons defeated the Chargers, 60-80. This wouldn't be the first time New Haven looks to play spoiler as they upset a #19 ranked Bentley team during the regular season on Jan. 14, 2020.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
The Chargers enter the NE10 Championship First Round fresh off a 87-76 win over Franklin Pierce in their final regular season game of the year.

The Chargers finished the 2021-22 season with a  record of 10-15 (5-14 in conference) as they look for revenge in a rematch with Bentley.

Last time the two met was on Feb. 14 when the Chargers traveled to Waltham, Mass. for a Valentine's Day matchup with the Falcons.

New Haven was left heartbroken after suffering a 61-80 loss to Bentley but now they have a chance of redemption as the Falcons will host the Chargers in the first round of the postseason.

Since then the Chargers have been winners of two of their last three games, largely in part to a dominating showing by Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden).

During that stretch, the junior forward has racked up 70 points and 49 rebounds on 62.5 percent shooting, including a career-high 31 points over Franklin Pierce on Feb. 21 and a career-high 22 rebounds at Adelphi on Feb. 19.

Deshaies ranked second in the conference with 11.0 rebounds per game as well as second in FG Pct, 53.8%.

Another Charger that set a career-high in points against the Ravens was Briana Van Cleaf (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy), who racked up 22 points.

Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy) finished the game with 16 points including a 4-7 effort from beyond the arc to go along with four rebounds and three assists.

DeBose was the fourth and final Charger to reach double-digit points for New Haven in the win. Despite being held to 2-9 shooting from the field, Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) drew six free throw attempts, five of which were made, as she ended the game with ten points. The senior guard also recorded four steals in the victory, extending her streak to 19 games while only being held to zero steals once this season. DeBose ranked 14th amongst NE10 scorers this season, ending the regular season with 13.3 points per game.

Brie Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) scored six points in the effort while tallying seven assists, three rebounds and three steals as the graduate guard ended the season with 3.1 assists per game, which ranks eighth in the conference.

The Ravens ended with 27-63 (42.9%) shooting from the field while going 14-32 (43.8%) from behind the perimeter. The Chargers ended the game shooting 33-65 (50.8%) while shooting 7-20 (35.0%) on three-point attempts. At the line, the Chargers converted 14 of 16 attempts whereas the Ravens shot 8-12. New Haven forced Franklin Pierce into 16 turnovers with four Chargers recording a steal with DeBose leading the defense with four steals while Deshaies and Alyssa Stevenson (Watertown, N.Y./South Jefferson Central) both blocked a shot.

The Chargers turned those turnovers into 16 points on the other end while Franklin Pierce scored 22 points off of turnovers. New Haven outrebounded the Ravens, 43-29 while dominating in the paint, 42-20. The Chargers outscored Franklin Pierce on second chance opportunities, 25-4.

The Chargers finished the campaign ranked fifth as a team in total rebounds (38.4) while ranking fourth in offensive boards (13.0) and 10th in defensive rebounds (25.4). New Haven ranks 11th in the conference with 59.0 points per game but they are also 8th in the NE10 with 62.3 points allowed per game. The Chargers shoot 38.0 percent on the year while allowing opponents to shoot 37.8 percent.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The Falcons enter the matchup 15-8 on the season and 13-6 during conference play, as they are on a one-game win streak after defeating Saint Anselm, 73-62 on Tuesday.

On offense, Bentley is led by graduate forward Autumn Ceppi, who averaged 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Ceppi is also 135-278 from the field, this season for a conference fourth-best 48.6 percent.
 
Last time Bentley hosted the Chargers, Ceppi was shot 6-13 as she racked up 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Leading the team that game was Kari Brekke, who shot a perfect 7-7 from the field including 5-5 from beyond the arc as she finished with 20 points.

Brekke averaged 10.9 points during the regular season while leading the conference with  44.2 percent three-point shooting.

Junior guard Ella Thompson averaged 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game while  shooting 37.6 percent from beyond the perimeter.

Ceppi and Maggie Whitmore both totaled over 130 rebounds on the season, the former ranking 10th in rebounds.

The Falcons have seen eight players start at least one game this season with the most recent lineup being Ceppi, Brekke, Whitmore, Kolleen Bouchard and Hartlee Meier.

On defense, Bentley averages 8.8 steals and 3.3 blocks per game. The Falcons have eight players with 10+ steals on the year, with Ceppi leading the team with 42. Ceppi is also the Falcon's lead shot blocker, with 17 on the season while Kolleen Bouchard follows close behind with 14.

Bentley ranks second in the conference with an average of 68.7 points per game, while shooting a first best 43.6 percent from the field. The Falcons allow an average of 58.8 points per game to their opponent on 40.9 percent shooting. As a whole, they rank eighth in the conference, averaging 36.7 rebounds for a +5.5 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 Northeast-10 Championship Quarterfinals will start on Feb. 27 (tip-off is TBD).