LOWELL, Mass. – The University of New Haven women’s basketball team dropped a Northeast-10 Conference game at UMass Lowell
Saturday afternoon, 88-76. With the loss, New Haven dropped to 2-17 overall and 2-13 in conference play. The River Hawks improved to 7-13 overall and 5-10 in NE-10 action.
Back-to-back turnovers by both teams opened the first half. Anh-Dao Tran (Webster, Mass./Holy Name) then opened scoring with a three-pointer. The River Hawks answered with eight-straight points to take an early 8-3 lead three minutes into the first half. Tran hit another shot at the 16:07 mark and then UMass Lowell went on a 10-0 run to take an 18-5 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half. The River Hawks improved their lead to as many as 18 points in the first half. Tran hit a free throw with 52 seconds left to bring the score within 11 points, 40-29. The River Hawks would score the final points of the half with a fast break basket with 17 seconds left and led by 13 at halftime, 42-29.
On the first possession of the second half, the River Hawks immediately improved their lead to 16 and then 19 points with back-to-back three-pointers. The teams exchanged a pair of baskets before the Chargers began a rally, sparked by a pair of free throws from Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career). UNH went on a 10-0 run to cut the River Hawks’ lead to eight points at the 16:35 mark. In the next two minutes, New Haven would come as close as six points after an Ashley LeBlanc (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) layup. The River Hawks regained a double figure lead and the Chargers came within 10 points only once in the final five minutes. LeBlanc hit another layup in the final 30-seconds and brought the Chargers within 12, 88-76.
The Chargers trailed by just one in rebounds, 36-35, but turned to ball over just 15 times compared to 16 by the River Hawks. UNH shot 41-percent from the floor, while the River Hawks shot a remarkable 54-percent from the floor, including 55-percent from three-point territory.
LeBlanc finished with a career-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. She also grabbed eight rebounds and three steals, while playing all 40 minutes. Nikita Reddy (Germantown, Md./Germantown) added 17 points five assists and six rebounds, while Moore contributed 14 points and nine rebounds.
New Haven returns to action on Tuesday, January 31 when it travels to Adelphi University in another NE-10 Conference game. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. in Garden City, N.Y. For complete coverage, stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com.
