WEST HAVEN, Conn. – After scoring a pair at the line to tie the game and force overtime, Nayeli Dowding (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) saw a clear floor to her right as time was running out in the extra frame as she drove right, pulled back and calmly drained the step back jumper that would be the difference as the New Haven women's basketball team improved to 8-1 on the season with a 68-66 home win over the visiting Post Eagles.

Those four points gave Dowding nine total for the game to finish among the leaders on the night. Overall, the Blue and Gold were led by graduate transfer Paige Cote (Sanford, Maine/Sanford) who finished with a career-high 21 points as one of two players in double figures. She was joined by Aniya McDonald-Perry (Middletown, Conn./Putnam Science Academy), who also finished with a career-high, with 18 points.

Among the two leaders, McDonald-Perry led the shooting efforts as she connected on 6-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-8 at the free throw line. Cote closed out her night connecting on 7-of-13 from the field while going a perfect 7-of-7 at the line. The pair also dished out four assists apiece while Cote added three steals and McDonald-Perry picked off a pair of passes.

As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 42.3 percent, connecting on 22-of-52 field goal attempts, with four of those 22 baskets coming from outside the three point arc. The Chargers also added 20 points at the free throw line, with those coming on 23 attempts. The Eagles did close out the game with a 32-31 advantage in the battle of the boards with McDonald-Perry and Charlotte Bassett (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) leading the New Haven efforts with seven each.

FIRST QUARTER NOTES

·        The Chargers struck first with a three pointer in the corner from Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) off the pass from Cote, with that opening hoop coming on the opening possession of the evening.

·        That opening bucket was part of 13 unanswered for New Haven as they opened up the game to a 13-0 lead. Five of the 13 came at the free throw line while McDonald-Perry and Bassett added buckets, the latter a three pointer. Of all the scorers, McDonald-Perry led the way in that opening stretch with five of the 13 points.

·        Despite the slow start, the Eagles battled back to pull within five, 18-13, at the first intermission, thanks mostly to the spark of Alyssa Rossignol off the bench who went 4-of-4 for nine points.

SECOND QUARTER NOTES

·        Back-to-back buckets from McDonald-Perry early in the second quarter pushed the junior forward over the double digit mark, the first player of the game as those two early baskets gave her 12 for the game on 4-of-5 shooting and 4-of-6 at the line.

·        With the Eagles keeping the deficit inside of double digits for much of the second quarter, it wasn't until the final two minutes that New Haven extended its lead scoring the final nine points to take a 42-24 lead into the intermission. Among the nine points were a pair of three pointers, one each from Dowding and Sabira Ahayeva (Minsk, Belarus/Minsk #27), the latter of which came with 12 seconds remaining in the half and put the margin at its largest of the game.

·        One more Charger would hit double figures before reaching halftime as the second bucket of the night from Cote pushed her over the double digit threshold. Cote opened up her scoring going 6-of-6 at the line and added a seventh free throw on an and-one to give her 11 for the half.

·        After shooting just 28.6 percent (4-of-14) in the opening period, the Chargers responded to shoot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) in the second quarter. Overall for the half, 14 of the Chargers 42 points came at the free throw line.

THIRD QUARTER NOTES

·        Post came out of the locker room to score the first 11 points and pull within seven before the Chargers mustered their first points.

·        It took nearly five minutes before the Chargers were able to get on the board when Cote connected on a layup thanks to the pass from Ahayeva.

·        Cote would go on to score twice more in the period as the Chargers closed out the third shooting just 3-of-11 from the field, all three of those field goals from Cote.

·        A pair of points at the line from Shuyler Coles extended the New Haven lead back to double figures, however the Eagles were able to convert one-of-two at the line with two seconds remaining to put the margin at the final intermission at nine, 50-41.

FOURTH QUARTER NOTES

·        Post opened up the final period scoring first as they pulled within six for the first time since the first quarter on a three pointer. Coles answered right back on the other end with a pull-up jumper to kick-off the Chargers scoring.

·        After trading baskets for the first five minutes of the quarter, the Eagles rattled off five straight to cut the deficit to a single points with 4:15 remaining. New Haven answered with back-to-back buckets of their own with layups from McDonald-Perry and Cote.

·        After a fastbreak bucket from McDonald-Perry gave New Haven a four point lead, the Eagles answered with a three pointer just inside of two minutes remaining to cut the lead back to one.

·        Post followed that with three more points to make it six-straight which led to a two point lead with 11 seconds remaining.

·        On its final possession in regulation, Dowding collected a pass at the top of the key and drove to the hoop where she was fouled with three seconds remaining. The senior from Baldwin, N.Y. stepped to the line and sunk a pair of no-doubt attempt to knot the score at 62, forcing overtime.

OVERTIME NOTES

·        Just like they opened the fourth quarter, Post would strike first in overtime with a turnaround jumper courtesy of a New Haven turnover. The Blue and Gold answered right back 21 seconds later with a pair of free throws from Basset to knot the score at 64.

·        Neither team would muster a hoop over the next three minutes when Cote broke the drought with a layup with 38 seconds remaining thanks to the feed from McDonald-Perry.

·        Naj White would tie the score once again when she connected on a turnaround jumper with 13 seconds remaining for what was her game-high 37th point of the night, with 31 of those coming in the second half alone.

·        New Haven would bring the ball up the court with Dowding taking the handoff just outside the three point arc. She would notice the open floor to her right, in front of the New Haven bench, reacting by driving to her right, pulling up and sinking what would be the game-winning goal with 2.5 seconds remaining.

·        Post used its final timeout to advance the ball and after inbounding to White, the guard from Hartford, Conn. stepped back behind the three point arc where she had an open look at the hoop as the shot bounced off the back iron as the buzzer sounded.

UP NEXT

The Chargers will continue a stretch of three games in five days to close out the calendar year on Friday, December 20 when they head on the road for the final time in non-conference play to take on the Georgian Court Lions. Opening tip from the GCU Wellness Center is set for 12:00 p.m.