WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Staring down the potential of overtime, graduate guard Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community) took the handoff at the top of the arc and drove to her left and into the lane where she rolled the game-winning shot off her finger tips and over the iron with 1.7 seconds remaining leading the New Haven women's basketball team to a 56-54 win over Staten Island. The victory closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule as the Chargers (16-8 overall) look ahead at their final two regular season games at Le Moyne (Saturday, February 18) and home versus Saint Anselm (Tuesday, February 21).
DeBose was a force to be reckoned with throughout the game, leading all scorers in the game with 26 points, including scoring the first 12 points of the night for her team. Overall for the game, DeBose finished the game shooting 11-of-19 from the field, including four from beyond the three point arc.
DeBose was the only New Haven player to finished in double figures with all but one of the 56 total points coming from the Blue and Gold's starting five. Following DeBose in the scoring column was seniors Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) and Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy) with eight points and freshman Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) with seven. Deshaies also added a game-high 13 rebounds as the Chargers won the battle of the boards 41-26.
As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 44.7 percent from the field, making 21 buckets in 47 attempts. Included in the 21 total field goals were five from beyond the three point arc, while they were also 9-of-10 at the free throw line. Combined, the Chargers finished with 14 assists on the 21 baskets with King leading the way with six helpers, her 13th game of the season with five or more.
The Chargers return to the court on Saturday will come in its longest road trip of the conference season as they head to Le Moyne for the penultimate game of the regular season against the Dolphins. Tip off in the key NE10 matchup is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. with all of the action to be carried live on NE10 NOW.
FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
· DeBose came out of the gates with an eye on the basket and missed just one of her first six field goal attempts, scoring her teams first 12 points of the game.
· Included in her early rally was a pair of baskets that came just 17 seconds apart as the Dolphins followed her first layup with a turnover and she followed that with a three pointer thanks to a helping hand from King.
· After two baskets that weren't from DeBose, she would strike again with another two points that completed a 9-0 run that ended with a double digit lead for the Chargers, 18-8.
· The Dolphins answered their largest deficit of the period with a 5-0 run of their own before Leighanna Lister (Kutztown, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) closed out the period with a jumper thanks to an assist from the rookie Hogan.
SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
· Lister opened up the second period the same way she ended the first, this time on a layup thanks to a pass from Bianca Pendleton (Accokeek, Md./New Hope Academy). That bucket from Lister sparked an 11-0 run to open up the frame as New Haven built its lead out to 18.
· Defensively, the Chargers held Staten Island without a field goal for nearly seven minutes with its first bucket coming at the 3:13 mark.
· That field goal was the first of three straight for the Dolphins as they closed out the period on a 7-0 run to go into the locker room trailing 31-20 at the intermission.
THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
· For the third time in as many periods, the Chargers opened up the scoring in the third quarter, this time with the rookie sharp shooter Hogan hitting from beyond the arc off a feed from Lister.
· The first four minutes of the frame consisted of the teams trading points with the last in that stretch a layup from Lister at the 5:52 mark.
· That basket would end up being the only for either team over the next three minutes with DeBose breaking that scoring drought as she scored a fast break layup on the outlet pass from a missed attempt on the other end.
· Staten Island answered that DeBose bucket by ending the quarter with the final six points to bring their deficit into single digits, 42-34, at the buzzer.
FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
· New Haven kept its streak of scoring first in the quarter intact with Deshaies netting the opening bucket of the frame, scooping up the offensive board and putting it right back in to extend the lead back to double figures.
· Staten Island answered right back and in a big way as they drilled a three pointer for their first points, with that basket the first of three straight that cut the New Haven lead down to a pair, 44-42.
· DeBose wasn't going to let her teams lead shrink all the way out as she answered that Staten Island run with a three pointer at the 6:50 mark, while King followed that with a perfect pair at the free throw line to put the lead back at seven, 49-42.
· Again, Staten Island persisted, this time around rattling off six unanswered to cut its lead to a single point with exactly two minutes on the clock.
· Once again it would be DeBose who stepped up and halted that momentum with another three, this time off a pass from Stickle at the 1:38 mark.
· The Dolphins answered right back, matching that three pointer just over a minute later before sending King back to the line where she once again went a perfect 2-for-2 with 31 seconds remaining.
· Staten Island went right back to the same player who just drilled one from long range seconds ago, Ashley Lambert, who hit again, this time from the corner to tie the game at 54 with 18 seconds remaining.
· After the timeout which advanced the ball into the Chargers front court, New Haven brought the clock down to its final ticks before the handoff to DeBose which led to the game-winning layup. The Dolphins made every effort in the final 1.7 seconds but saw their shot ricochet off the front of the iron as the buzzer sounded.
