ERIE, Pa. – New Haven Women's Basketball began its Western Pennsylvania trip with a 66-63 loss at Mercyhurst on Thursday night. The Blue & Gold found itself down big early and hung around for long enough to have the game come down to the final few possessions.

Aniya McDonald-Perry (Middletown, Conn./Putnam Science Academy) recorded a career-high 17 rebounds and finished with 16 points in the contest. Addisen Sulikowski (Saco, ME/Thornton Academy) was the only other Charger to finish in double figures.

New Haven struggled to find an answer for Jenna Van Schaik, who finished with a game-high 25 points. Cici Hernandez also had her way with the Blue & Gold, finishing with 18 points.

The Chargers battled back from down 20 at halftime to make it a one-point game with eight seconds left following a big three pointer from Lindsay Hogan (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley). Jasmine McKay (West Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) got a look at the buzzer from deep but couldn't get it, allowing Mercyhurst to escape with a narrow margin of victory.

New Haven saw a large contribution from its bench as McKay (eight), Teaira Kelly (eight), and Schuyler Coles (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) (six) combined for 22 points.

The Chargers will continue their Western Pennsylvania trip with a matchup at St. Francis on Saturday, Jan. 24. Opening tipoff will arrive at 1:00 p.m.