WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven women’s basketball team dropped a Northeast-10 Conference game to Southern
Connecticut State University 65-75 Saturday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium. The Chargers fell to 3-22 overall and 3-18 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The nationally ranked No. 22 Owls improved to 21-4 overall and 18-3 in conference play.
Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) led the Chargers with 17 points on 5-of-18 shooting and 4-of-4 at the charity stripe. She also led the game with 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Audrey Cunningham (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) added 16 points, while Anh-Dao Tran (Webster, Mass./Holy Name) chipped in with 11.
The Chargers and Owls came out of the gates on fire Saturday afternoon. The Chargers opened the game by connecting on their first five shots, including three from downtown. SCSU kept stride with the Chargers and New Haven held a 13-10 lead with 16:20 left in the first half after a Nikita Reddy (Germantown, Md./Germantown) three-pointer. New Haven maintain the lead until the 13:10 mark when the Owls hit a layup and took a 19-18 advantage. Audrey Cunningham (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) immediately answered for UNH with another three-pointer to put the Chargers ahead. At the 10:09 mark, Cunningham made another trifecta to put the Chargers ahead by six points, 26-20. The Owls answered with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes and retook the lead. In the closing minutes of the first half, the teams exchanged the lead twice before Southern took a lead for good in the final two minutes. The Owls led by six, 42-36, at halftime.
After 90 scoreless seconds in the second half, SCSU took its largest lead of the game so far with a layup in transition. Bria Moore (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) kept the score close by answering with a three-pointer 20-seconds later. New Haven got as close and one point after a pair of Moore free throws at the 11-minute mark, but the Owls rallied with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to take an 11-point, 62-51, lead with 8:06 remaining. The Chargers kept the nationally ranked Owls within ten points until the final two minutes when the Owls sealed their 19th win in their last 20 games.
The Chargers turned the ball over 20 times compared to 10 times by the Owls, while both teams recorded 40 rebounds. The Chargers shot 39-percent from the floor, while the Owls connected on 44-percent of their shots. SCSU used the UNH turnovers and scored 22 points. The Owls also held a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points.
New Haven will return to action on Tuesday, February 21 when they conclude the season at the College of Saint Rose. Game time in Albany, N.Y. is set for 5:30 p.m. Stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com for complete coverage.
