COLCHESTER, Vt. – One of two players with a team-high 14 points, Bianca Pendleton (Accokeek, Md./New Hope Academy) came off the bench and was a force for the New Haven women's basketball team (5-5, 1-5 NE10) as it picked up its third-straight win and first in Northeast-10 Conference play with a 61-45 decision over the Saint Michael's Purple Knights.
Of the three leading scorers, Pendleton was one of two that came off the bench to put up double figures, joined by transfer Nayeli Dowding (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) who added a dozen. Rounding out the leaders was sophomore Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) who tied Pendleton with 14, scoring four of her five field goals from outside the three point arc. Pendelton led all shooters on the night connecting on 6-of-7 from the field, while adding a perfect 2-of-2 sat the free throw line.
"This was 40 minutes of a full team effort tonight," said head coach Debbie Buff. "BP [Bianca Pendleton (Accokeek, Md./New Hope Academy)] was huge for us. Her and Nay [Nayeli Dowding (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin)] were big off the bench, while Lindsay [Hogan] played well on both sides of the ball."
Finishing just outside of double figures was junior guard Charlotte Bassett (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) who finished with nine points, while all eight players who saw time during the game finished with at least two points. As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 42.1 percent from the field, connecting on 24-of-57 overall, which included eight three pointers. In addition, New Haven connected on 5-of-6 free throw line.
The Chargers also won the battle of the boards with a 38-30 margin in their favor as all eight players also finished with at least a pair of rebounds, led by Makaela Johnson (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) who came off the bench to pull down eight boards. Twelve of the Chargers 38 rebounds came on the offensive glass as they turned those into 11 second chance points.
New Haven also saw the floor well, finishing with 17 assists on their 24 total field goals as seven of the eight players who saw action finished with at least one assist. Extending her team-high in that column was Gabrielle Stickle (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) who led the Chargers with six assists, her fourth game of the season with five or more.
The Chargers will conclude a two-game road trip to open the 2024 portion of the schedule on Saturday, January 6 when they travel to the Bay State to take on the American International Yellow Jackets. Opening tip off in the NE10 contest from Butova Gymnasium is slated for 1:30 p.m. with all of the action available live on NE10Now.tv.
