WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Making its return to the court after 12 days away and behind a double double from Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) and a career-high from Charlotte Bassett (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) the New Haven women's basketball team took a 74-45 win over the visiting Georgian Court Lions (3-5) on Sunday afternoon at the Jeffery P. Hazell Athletic Center.
Deshaies and Bassett were part of three players to finish in double figures with Bassett leading all players in the game with her first ever 20+ performance of the year, draining 22 points on 9-of-16 from the field with a pair of three points and a 2-for-2 effort at the line. Deshaies also finished with nine field goals on the day, hers coming on 11 attempts, all inside the three point arc to finish with 18 points while contributing 11 rebounds to complete her fourth double double of the year.
"After having nearly two weeks without a game, I thought we came out with really good energy and executed great on both sides of the ball," said head coach Debbie Buff. "Individually, Charlotte [Bassett] was great on both sides of the ball while we got great leadership out of Ro [Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden)] who finished with a double double."
Rounding out the leading scorers was Nayeli Dowding (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) who came off the bench to finished with 11 points, connecting on 5-of-12 with a free throw. Also among those in the scoring column was Eveani Okwuosa (North Haven, Conn./Hamden Hall) with eight and Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) and Gabrielle Stickle (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) who each finished with six points as the Chargers starting five accounted for all but 14 on the 74 points on the afternoon. Hogan added to those six points with a team-high 12 rebounds.
As a team, New Haven finished the afternoon shooting an even 50 percent from the field, connecting on 32-of-64 field goal attempts with just three of those coming from beyond the three point arc. The Chargers also finished 7-of-10 at the free throw line and won the battle in the paint 44-30 and outscoring Georgian Court 28-4 in point off of turnovers. Overall, New Haven forced the Lions into 22 turnovers, while committing just nine. The Lions did win the battle of the boards by a 40-34 margin.
New Haven will not return to the court until just before the New Year as they enjoy a 13-day break before returning to action with the final of four home games in the month of December with the University of the District of Columbia visiting the West Haven campus. Tip off in the non-conference battle is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 30, with all of the action available on the Chargers Sports Network on NE10Now.tv
