NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Looking to build off of a home win last time out, the New Haven women's basketball team dropped a 76-55 decision to Southern Connecticut on Tuesday night at Moore Fieldhouse. With the decision, New Haven falls to 10-5 on the season and 5-4 in the Northeast-10 Conference.

Leading the Chargers on the evening was senior Bianca Pendleton (Accokeek, Md./New Hope Academy), one of three Chargers in double figures, as she finished with a baker's dozen 13. The post player from Maryland finished the game shooting 6-of-16 from the field and converted her lone free throw attempt.

Joining her in doubles figures was the duo of rookie Schuyler Coles (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) and junior Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) who finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Coles saw the majority of her points come at the free throw line where she finished a perfect 8-of-8 while adding a pair of field goals. Hogan concluded the game shooting 4-of-8 from the field with a three pointer and converted a pair at the line. Nayeli Dowding (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) led all New Haven players from the field where she was 4-of-7 and added a free throw for nine points.

As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 32.7 percent, connecting on 18-of-55 field goal attempts, with just one of those coming from outside the three point arc. The Charger did capitalize at the free throw line where they didn't miss a single of their 18 attempts. 4

The Owls also closed out the game with a 41-34 advantage on the boards, with Hogan leading the Chargers with eight rebounds. Coles and Sabira Ahayeva (Minsk, Belarus/Minsk #27) each followed with a half dozen rebounds, while Ahayeva added five assists to match a game-high of five from Charlotte Bassett (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury).

FIRST QUARTER NOTES

·         Southern Connecticut scored on the opening possession of the game and stormed out to a 15-0 lead before New Haven was able to crack into the scoring column.

·         Hogan was the first to strike for New Haven when she connected on a jumper just inside the five minute mark thanks to a pass from Bassett.

·         Hogan would add another basket, this time from outside the arc, to make it five straight for the Blue and Gold.

·         Bassett would add the final points of the quarter for New Haven while the Owls had the last word and took a 19-7 lead into the first intermission.

SECOND QUARTER NOTES

·         After the Owls opened the scoring in the second quarter, Bassett and Dowding would go back-to-back with buckets just 22 seconds apart looking to spark a New Haven rally.

·         After trading the next few baskets, New Haven went perfect at the line in back-to-back trips, all four of which from Coles, to cut the deficit to single digits for the first time.

·         Coles would keep her individual momentum going when she went perfect at the line in a third trip and added a driving layup to pull within six with four minutes remaining in the quarter.

·         Coming off the bench Eveani Okwuosa (North Haven, Conn./Hamden Hall) would get in on the action, using the momentum created by Coles to pick off a pass and take it to the hoop where she was fouled, but converted both attempts to make it a four point game.

·         With two minutes remaining, the Owls would break what was a 10-2 run for the Chargers with a layup followed by a three pointer to extend the lead back to nine and took a 10 point advantage into the locker room at the break, 33-23.

THIRD QUARTER NOTES

·         For the first time on the evening, the Chargers struck first to open the second half with Bassett converting on her squads first possession of the third period.

·         Pendleton made it a 5-0 run to start the frame when she converted an and-one to cut the halftime deficit in half.

·         Pendleton would strike again with Coles following that with a pair of free throws on the next possession to cut the deficit back to four, matching the closest the Chargers had come to that point.

·         After the Owls offense warmed up to regain a double figure lead, as much as 13, the Chargers rattled off six of the next eight to cut the deficit to nine, 51-42, before SCSU struck with a buzzer beater to close out the period with a 54-42 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER NOTES

·         New Haven would once again open up the period with the first points, this time around with Pendleton connecting just 10 seconds into the action.

·         The Owls responded to that opening bucket with five unanswered to open up a 15 point lead before Pendleton added her second bucket of the quarter working high-low with Paige Cote (Sanford, Maine/Sanford).

·         The Blue and Gold would manage to cut the deficit to 13 on a pair of occasions in the mid-way point of the quarter, the first on a pullup jumper from Dowding and the second on a layup from Hogan.

·         SCSU answered by opening up its largest lead, to that point, with just under three minutes to play at 67-50 and forcing the Chargers to call for time.

UP NEXT

For the first time in over a week, the New Haven women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Jeffery P. Hazell Athletics Center when they next take the court to host the Saint Michael's Purple Knights on Saturday, January 18. Opening tip in the Northeast-10 Conference battle is set for 1:30 p.m. with all of the action available live on NE10 Now on Flo College.