OAKDALE, N.Y. – The University of New Haven women’s basketball team dropped its 2011-12 season opener to Dowling College by seven points, 67-60, Sunday afternoon. Down nine at the half, the Chargers managed to cut the Golden Lions lead to three points in the closing five minutes.
The first half Sunday was back-and-forth at Dowling Gymnasium. The Charges led for nearly the entire first seven minutes as the Golden Lions were struggling from the floor. Ayana Duncanson (Elmont, N.Y./Francis Lewis) gave the Chargers a 12-10 lead with 13:00 left in the first half, but Dowling immediately tied it at 12-12 on its next possession. After a free throw by Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) the Chargers led 13-12 with 11:03 left in the first half.
Dowling then went on a 9-0 run over the next six minutes to take a commanding eight-point lead, 21-13. In the final minutes of the first half, Dowling would take an 11-point lead, 28-17, but freshman Monica Schacker (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy) put in a layup to bring the lead back to single digits, 28-19, at halftime.
New Haven would cut the Golden Lions lead to four points, 38-34, in the first six minutes of the second half, but back-and-forth scoring runs did not help the Chargers. After three points from Dowling, Nikita Reddy (Germantown, Md./Germantown) and Elizabeth Cruso (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) connected for a five-point scoring spree to cut Dowling’s lead to just two, 41-39 with just under 12 minutes remaining. New Haven again could not cut into the Golden Lions’ lead and in the closing minutes fell behind by the final score of 67-60.
Moore led the team with 20 points off 5-of-10 shooting and 8-of-10 at the charity stripe. The freshman also came one rebound away from a double-double, while Tran added 19 points on 7-of-19 from the floor, including 4-of-12 from long range.
As a team, the Chargers shot 31.7-percent from the floor, but held a slight 40-39 advantage on the boards.
New Haven will return to action on Wednesday, November 16 when the Chargers host the College of Saint Rose in their 2011-12 home opener. Game time at Charger Gymnasium is set for 5:30 p.m. For complete live coverage of Wednesday’s game, stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com.
