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WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Dominating in the paint and on the boards, the University of New Haven women's basketball team racked up its seventh straight victory on Saturday afternoon 70-65 over the visiting American International Yellow Jackets. With the win, New Haven improves to 13-7 on the season and 10-6 in the Northeast-10.

Prior to Saturday's game, New Haven honored its seven seniors who would play their final weekend regular season game at Charger Gymnasium; Leighanna Lister (Kutztown, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh), Brianna Diaz (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman), Aliyah Wright (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central), Alyssa Stevenson (Watertown, N.Y./South Jefferson Central), Briana Van Cleaf (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy), Kameryn King (Old Saybrook, Conn./Mercy) and Camryn DeBose (Wellington, Fla./Wellington Community).

"Big win today on senior day," said head coach Debbie Buff. "I am so happy and proud of our seniors. I thought we did a great job of sharing the ball. We came out with intensity and it carried through. We are hitting our stride. Seven in a row!"

The majority of New Haven scoring came from its starting five, with all but six of the 70 points among that group. Leading all Chargers on the afternoon was Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) and King who each finished with 16 points. Among the pair, Deshaies saw the most success from the field, connecting on 8-of-11, while half of King's points came at the free throw line where she was 9-of-10. Deshaies and King also excelled in other areas, with Deshaies leading all players in the game with nine points, while King led all players with seven assists.

Rounding out the leading scorers for New Haven was freshman Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) who finished with 14 points, her second game in double figures, and DeBose who chipped in with 10. Along with Deshaies, Hogan also had a great afternoon from the field, going 5-of-9 overall, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, while she was perfect in both of her free throw attempts. Listed was the fifth and final starter for New Haven, adding eight points, while Gabrielle Stickle (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) and Stevenson each finished with three.

As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 45.1 percent from the field, connecting on 23-of-51 field goal attempts. Five of the 23 baskets came from outside the three point arc, while the Chargers were also 19-of-25 at the free throw line.

New Haven will close out a three-game homestand on Tuesday night when they host the Saint Michael's Purple Knights at Charger Gymnasium, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. all of the action will be available live on the Charger Sports Network, part of NE10 NOW.

FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·        The Yellow Jackets opened up the scoring with a three pointer off of the opening possession and would hold onto that lead for the first three-plus minutes.

·        Once again trailing by three, New Haven strung together three straight buckets from Deshaies, Hogan and King, the latter of which gave New Haven an 8-5 lead, one they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game.

·        AIC managed to tie the game at 10-10, while the largest lead for the Blue and Gold came with 69 seconds before the first break thanks to a three pointer from King in the corner, off a feed from Stevenson. That bucket gave New Haven an 18-14 lead they would take into the first intermission.

SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·        Defensively, New Haven held the Yellow Jackets to just 10 points in the second quarter, two of which came on their opening possession.

·        Following that opening bucket, New Haven scored four-straight to extend its lead to 22-16, with all four coming on layups from Deshaies, the first two off a turnover and the second two on a putback opportunity.

·        AIC would cut that lead in half, 24-21, before New Haven opened up their first double digit lead using a 10-0 run that began with a three pointer from Hogan, who had two from outside the arc during that stretch.

·        AIC would manage the final points of the half on a three pointer with 1:26 remaining before the buzzer, putting the halftime margin at 10, 34-24.

·        Hogan and Lister would split the 16 points in the quarter in half, each finishing with eight points.

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·        The Chargers scored first to open the third quarter, extending their lead to a dozen before American International looked to make a comeback, cutting the deficit into single digits and getting to as close at five with 7:58 remaining.

·        Five was the closest they would get as New Haven's defense once again kicked into high gear allowing the Chargers to go on a 15-2 run and open up their largest lead of the game at 18, 52-34 with 2:43 left in the period.

·        AIC would score seven of the final 11 points in the frame, however New Haven took a comfortable 14 point lead into the final break.

FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

·        New Haven kept the pressure on to start the fourth quarter, building their lead back to 17 at the 7:05 mark on a three pointer from Stickle.

·        With the Charger lead at 15, 64-49, with four minutes remaining in the game, the Yellow Jackets look to make a late rally, outscoring New Haven 16-6 down the stretch and cutting the lead to as little as five.

·        King's strength at the free throw line in the final minutes secure the victory for the Chargers as she would go a perfect 6-of-6 in the final 38 seconds.