The University of New Haven’s women’s basketball team beat Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Penmen for a conference matchup, 69-60, last week.
Before the game, the Chargers faced their first loss of the season against Assumption University. Despite the setback, guard Charlotte Bassett said that with the experience among the top seven players, team chemistry is on point.
“We’ve all come from different places but ultimately ended up here and we trust everyone’s basketball IQ,” said Bassett. “Our bench is also so strong that it doesn’t matter who subs in because everyone is a skilled player.”
With an intense offensive matchup between the Chargers and the Penmen, Bassett led the Chargers with 17 points and finished the game shooting 5-for-10 from the field and 3-for-7 from behind the three-point arc. She also went 4-for-4 at the free throw line and tallied nine rebounds, an assist and a steal. Guard Lindsay Hogan secured 15 points as well as four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Center Paige Cote added 13 points for the Chargers and finished the game shooting 5-for-12 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line.
Behind New Haven’s leading scorers, five other Chargers were able to put up points against the Penmen. Forward Aniya McDonald-Perry had 11 points and tallied eight rebounds and an assist. Guard Schuyler Coles finished with six points and shot 2-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free throw line. Guard Eveani Okwuosa added three points alongside six rebounds and a steal. Guard Sabira Ahayeva and forward Merit Innocent each secured two points for the Chargers. Ahayeva added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Innocent shot 1-for-1 from the field and had a single rebound.
With a close game on the line, Bassett said that the team’s main thing to remember is to “stop and score.”
“Whether it’s five minutes or one minute left in the quarter, each possession at a time is what we focus on,” said Bassett. “We also yell ‘hands up’ a lot just to get ourselves on our toes to get a defensive stop.”
Megan Gordon led the Penmen with 19 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop New Haven’s persistent offense. The Chargers finished the game shooting 39.3% from the field while the Penmen finished shooting 36.5%. After 17 personal fouls from SNHU, the Chargers went 16-for-20 at the free throw line and finished shooting 80%.
Bassett said that the team has tough practices but players know it will give the Chargers the edge against their opponents and keep them in the game longer.
“We are extremely focused in practice and our coaching staff prepares us for exactly what we need to expect on the defensive and offensive end against our opponents,” said Bassett. “We go through blobs, slobs, presses and press breakers and we get a lot of shots up.”
The Chargers also competed against American International College (AIC) on Saturday and defeated the Yellow Jackets, 79-71. The conference league game was an intense offensive match up with Hogan leading the Chargers and Bassett and Ahayeva following right behind. The Chargers finished the game with 37 rebounds, 17 assists, six steals and two blocks. New Haven also tallied 14 turnovers and ten personal fouls.
After the win over SNHU and AIC, New Haven has an overall record of 6-1 and 4-1 in conference play. The Chargers will be back in action at 6 p.m. on Wednesday as they host the Bridgeport University Purple Knights. For more information, visit NewHavenChargers.com.
