WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) got hot from the outside in the second half and her team fed off of that momentum as the New Haven women's basketball team shot 69.2 percent in the second half to pull away from the visiting Franklin Pierce Ravens for a 71-50 win on Saturday afternoon at the Jeffery P. Hazell Athletics Center. With the win, New Haven improves to 13-5 on the season and 8-4 in the Northeast-10 Conference.
Hogan led the Chargers with 19 points, connecting on 7-of-16 from the field including a 50-percent (5-of-10) effort from outside the three-point arc. With her final three pointer of the afternoon, which came as the opening bucket of the fourth quarter, the Bayville, N.Y. native recorded her 100th career basket from outside the arc making her the 10th player in program history to convert at least 100 career three pointers.
Hogan's 19 points were part of four players who finished in double figures, two more among the starting five with Paige Cote (Sanford, Maine/Sanford) adding a dozen and Charlotte Bassett (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) finishing with an even 10, while Nayeli Dowding (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) came off the bench to match Bassett with 10 points. Among all the leading scorers, Dowding had the best numbers of the day, finishing 3-of-4 from the field, with a pair of three pointers and a pair of free throws. Cote followed, connecting on 6-of-9 from the floor.
As a team, New Haven finished the game shooting 44.8 percent, connecting on 26-of-58 field goal attempts with 10 from long range, while also going 8-of-10 at the free throw line. The 69.2 percent second half shooting (18-of-26, 7-of-12) followed an opening half where the Chargers connected on 8-of-32 for 25 percent.
The Blue and Gold also combined to finished with a 37-30 advantage on the boards, led by Cote who finished with six rebounds as nine different players contributed in the battle of the boards. Additionally, New Haven finished with 19 assists among their 26 field goals, with Sabira Ahayeva (Minsk, Belarus/Minsk #27) leading the way with seven.
COACHES QUOTES
"Unbelievable team effort today," said head coach Debbie Buff. "The energy from the entire team was outstanding. Our crew off the bench were amazing. Merit [Innocent], Nay [Nayeli Dowding (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin)] and Skye [Schuyler Coles (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township)] were great. Lindsay [Hogan] hit her 100th career three pointer. Paige [Cote] was a huge defensive presence and had three assists. We followed scout and had 19 assists."
FIRST QUARTER NOTES
· A slow start out of the gates for either team, however it was the home team that struck first as Ahayeva connected from outside the three-point arc 72 seconds into the action to spark a game-opening 8-0 run for the Chargers.
· Cote and Bassett would each follow Ahayeva in the scoring column, with Bassett also hitting from long range to put the lead at the early eight point advantage.
· Following the opening basket for the Ravens, which came more than five minutes into the action, Franklin Pierce cut the lead down to three just two minutes later.
· New Haven answered by regaining a seven point lead following a bucket from Hogan and a pair at the line from Cote.
· The Ravens wouldn't go down quietly in the first quarter, scoring the final five points including a buzzer beating heave just over half court to cut the Chargers lead to two going into the first break.
SECOND QUARTER NOTES
· Franklin Pierce carried the late first quarter momentum into the second period, scoring first to knot the game at 14 before taking their first lead of the day just about six minutes into the period.
· New Haven's opening bucket of the quarter followed those first points for the Ravens and came off the bench thanks to Bianca Pendleton (Accokeek, Md./New Hope Academy) as she fought around her defender to find the hoop.
· A nearly five-minute scoring drought for New Haven would come to a close thanks to Hogan hitting once again from downtown.
· Franklin pierce responded by scoring four unanswered to open up a three-point lead which New Haven cut down to a single point before the halftime buzzer with Merit Innocent (Delta State, Nigeria/Busche Academy) getting in on the scoring with a second chance layup.
THIRD QUARTER NOTES
· Just like they opened the game, New Haven came out of the locker room with a vengeance and scored the first 12 points of the second half, holding the Ravens off the scoreboard for the first four plus minute and without a field goal for the first five minutes.
· Cote would lead the way in that opening 12-point rally with a trio of buckets while Hogan, Bassett and Dowding all contributed as well.
· The Chargers built as much as a 15-point lead before the Ravens began to chip away and cut the deficit back into single digits but would get no closer than six before the end of the third quarter.
· New Haven answered that mini run for the Ravens by scoring six of the final seven points to take a double digit, 50-39, lead into the final intermission.
FOURTH QUARTER NOTES
· New Haven started out hot again in the fourth quarter, scoring the first five points on a three pointer from Hogan and a layup from Cote to extend the lead to 16 before the Ravens mustered their first points of the quarter.
· The Chargers wouldn't let up however, answering that first basket with another five point rally and eventually opening up a 21 point lead by extending that rally to 9-2 to take a 64-43 advantage.
· Franklin Pierce would manage to get only as close as 15 points down the stretch as New Haven secured the season sweep of the Ravens.
UP NEXT
After spending the last week and a half at home, the New Haven women's basketball team will head on the road for its next game with a trip to Manchester, N.H. to take on the Southern New Hampshire Penmen on Tuesday, January 28. Opening tip from the Stan Spirou Field House is slated for 5:30 p.m. with all of the action available on NE10 Now on Flo College.
