WILMINGTON, Del. – Two games in two days and two victories to start the 2023 season for the New Haven women's basketball team as they swept the season opening Goldey-Beacom Tipoff Tournament with an 85-57 win over the host Lightning on Saturday afternoon. Leading the Chargers for the second-straight day was sophomore Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley), this time around as she scored a game-high 22 points.
Overall, Hogan was one of four Chargers to finish in double figures followed by graduate post Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) who completed her first double double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Grad transfer Makaela Johnson (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) rounded out the top three scorers for New Haven as she finished just shy of her second double double with 16 points and nine boards.
Rounding out the leading scorers for New Haven was junior transfer Nayeli Dowding (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) who came off the bench to rack up 14 points as she finished the game shooting 5-of-14 from the field with a pair of three pointers. Leading the Chargers from the field was Hogan who shot 8-of-14 overall with half of her field goals from outside the arc.
As a team, New Haven finished the night shooting 45.6 percent, connecting on 31-of-68 attempts from the field, which included seven baskets from outside the three point arc. The Chargers also took advantage of 23 trips to the line, connecting on 16 of those attempts for a 69.6 percent average.
The Blue and Gold also had a commanding lead in the rebounding battle with a 50-29 margin thanks in part to Deshaies game-high baker's dozen. Combined as a team, the Chargers also racked up 15 assists on their 31 baskets while surrendering just nine turnovers on the day. Senior guard Gabrielle Stickle (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) finished with a career-high eight assists.
New Haven will continue what equals a three-match road trip to open up the new season on Wednesday night when they make the trip to Waltham, Mass. to take on the Bentley Falcons. Opening tip in the NE10 opening game is set for 6:00 p.m. at the Dana Center.
