SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The University of New Haven women’s basketball team clinched a berth in the upcoming Northeast-10 Championship with a 70-56 win at American International on Wednesday. Four Chargers netted double figures in the victory with nine landing in the scoring column in total.
The Chargers (12-12, 11-9 NE-10) will return to the postseason for the first time since 2009-10. New Haven has won back-to-back games and six of its last seven contests. Tonight’s triumph extends the Chargers’ winning streak over AIC (13-11, 10-10 NE-10) to four games and completes a home-and-home sweep of the Yellow Jackets for the second straight season.
Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) led UNH with 14 points in addition to five rebounds and four assists, while Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) registered her second consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Lauren Hebert (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) led the way off the bench with 11 points and five rips.
Anh-Dao Tran (Webster, Mass./Holy Name) saw her streak of four straight 20-point outings come to an end, but still turned in a strong showing with 11 points, six rebounds, a career-high nine assists and four steals.
Led by Hayes’ 10 rebounds, the Chargers worked to a 50-39 advantage on the glass. AIC held a 17-16 edge in the turnover battle, but New Haven scored 26 points off of Yellow Jacket miscues, while the home team managed only 14 points off Charger giveaways.
The Chargers never trailed in the contest as Bradford opened the scoring with a three-pointer. New Haven began the game on a 17-4 run and maintained a double-digit lead midway through the first half. However, the Yellow Jackets closed the half on a 19-6 spurt as the first period ended in a deadlock, 29-29.
Just as it had done to start the game, New Haven began the second half on a run. The Chargers poured in nine of the first 11 tallies of the stanza to open up a 38-31 margin with 16:35 to play. The Yellow Jackets would trim the deficit within a single possession on two occasions, but each time New Haven answered and eventually rebuilt a double-digit lead at 54-43. The Chargers continued to put points on the board and sank six free throws in the game’s final 90 seconds to close out a 70-56 victory.
Sarah Noble scored a game-high 20 points for AIC.
New Haven plays its final road game of the regular season on Saturday at crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State. Tip-off from Moore Field House is set for 1:30 p.m. The Chargers return home for Senior Night and the regular-season finale against Saint Rose on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 5:30 p.m.
