WEST HAVEN, Conn. – After opening up the game on a 7-0 run, the New Haven women's basketball team went wire-to-wire for a 71-42 victory over the visiting Saint Michael's College Purple Knights on Saturday afternoon at the Jeffery P. Hazell Athletic Center. With the win, New Haven improves to 7-14 on the season and 3-14 in the Northeast-10 Conference.
With four of those first seven points junior guard Charlotte Bassett (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) was off and running as she went on to lead the Chargers, and all players in the game, with a 24-point performance while completing her second career double double pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. For the game, the Glastonbury, Conn. native shot 11-of-17 from the field, with two of her 11 field goals coming from outside the three-point arc, while both her 24 points and 11 rebounds were new career highs.
"We had outstanding energy for the full 40 minutes today," said head coach Debbie Buff. "We moved on offense and shared the ball. We were quick to the boards and outrebounded them 49-22 and had 19 assists. Charlotte was stellar on both sides of the ball."
Overall, Bassett was the only player in the game to finish in double figures while she was joined by graduate transfer Makaela Johnson (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) and freshman guard Sabira Ahayeva (Minsk, Belarus/Minsk #27) in leading the team with nine and eight points respectively. Also among the leaders in the scoring column was Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) and Bianca Pendleton (Accokeek, Md./New Hope Academy) who each finished with seven, while Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) and Eveani Okwuosa (North Haven, Conn./Hamden Hall) followed with a half dozen apiece.
As a team, New Haven finished the afternoon shooting 49.2 percent from the field, connecting on 30-of-61 field goal attempts with seven of those 30 buckets coming from outside the three-point arc. In addition, the Chargers finished 4-of-6 at the free throw line.
The 11 rebounds for Bassett were part of 49 total for the Chargers as they also led in the battle of the boards by a 49-22 margin. In that battle Bassett was one of two players to finish in double figures as Deshaies followed her with 10 as she now stands 14 shy of becoming the fourth player in program history to collect 1,000 career rebounds.
New Haven also finished the afternoon with 19 assists among their 30 total field goals. Leading the efforts was Hogan and Johnson who each dished out four. Deshaies and senior Gabrielle Stickle (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) reach added a trio of assists.
Renewing the Rivalry! The Chargers will once again face their crosstown rival when they take to the court next time out at Southern Connecticut State University. The rematch of a SCSU win earlier this season is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13 with tip off at the Moore Field House scheduled for 5:30 p.m. All of the action from the conference battle will be available live on NE10Now.tv
