WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Aquillin Hayes (Harlem, N.Y./Wings Academy) neared a triple-double and Anh-Dao Tran (Webster, Mass./Holy Name) netted 23 points to lead the University of New Haven women’s basketball team to a 95-52 win over visiting Le Moyne. The Chargers’ 95-point showing was the program’s best since a 103-81 win over Mercy on Dec. 1, 2007.
New Haven (11-12, 10-9 NE-10) also posted its largest margin of victory since a 79-28 win over Concordia on Jan. 26, 2008. Both the Chargers’ margin of victory and point total are the program’s most-ever in a Northeast-10 contest.
Hayes posted 12 points, 21 rebounds and eight blocked shots in 27 minutes of action. Her 21 boards mark the most by a Charger since Charger Hall of Famer Joy Jeter grabbed 23 rebounds against Keene State on Jan. 23, 1988.
Tran, who shot 9-for-17 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range, posted her fourth-straight 20-point outing with her game-high 23 tallies. The junior sharpshooter went over 900 points for her career, upping her three-year total to 919 points.
Collectively, the Chargers set season highs in points, field goals made (38), rebounds (60), assists (19) and blocked shots (8). New Haven shot 32-for-68 (47.1 percent) from the field – its second-most efficient scoring game of 2012-13. New Haven’s 60-42 rebounding margin is also a season high for the Chargers.
Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) also scored in double figures with 11 points in addition to seven rebounds and a game-high four assists. Briana Bradford (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) and Rykema Stone (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) rounded out the production from the starting unit with eight points apiece.
Led by nine points each from Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) and Nikita Reddy (Germantown, Md./Germantown), the Chargers’ bench outscored the Dolphins’ reserves, 33-5. Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) notched a season-best seven points, Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) scored five and Lauren Hebert (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) added three.
Additionally, Amber Martinez (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) grabbed a career-best two rebounds in five minutes of action in her first appearance of the season. LaTanza Britts (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle / Iowa Wesleyan) stepped on the court for the first time as a Charger and hauled in one board.
An early 13-0 run broke the game open as New Haven claimed a 29-8 advantage midway through the opening half. The Chargers later went on to net the final 11 points of period and headed to the locker room comfortably on top, 46-19.
New Haven began the second period on a 10-2 spurt – continuing the previous stretch to 21-2 in total – and poured in 49 points after the intermission to run away with a 95-52 triumph.
Tessa Pucello scored a team-high 16 points for the Dolphins (5-18, 3-16 NE-10).
The Chargers return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at American International. New Haven and the Yellow Jackets are currently tied in the NE-10 standings. Tip-off from Springfield, Mass. is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
