After beginning the season with losses to Xavier University and Iona University, the Chargers hosted the SUNY Purchase College Panthers.
The Chargers snatched their first win of the season with an impressive performance and dominant 99-53 victory over the Panthers. This marked head coach Debbie Buff’s 300th career win.
The Chargers held the Panthers to only 13.25 points per quarter, allowed four three-pointers in the entire game and forced 29 turnovers. Guards Lindsay Hogan and Schuyler Coles as well as forward Aniya McDonald-Perry each had four steals, while the entire team had 20 combined, which led to 37 points off turnovers.
“Our goal for this is to play hard every time we step on the court, and to have energy,” said McDonald-Perry. “Nobody cares that we are D1 so we use that for our momentum.”
McDonald-Perry finished the game with 12 points and five rebounds while only missing two shots.
Guard Teaira Kelly and Hogan led the Chargers with 16 points each. Kelly had 100% efficiency in the game, and finished shooting 8-for-8 from the field. New Haven had 54.3% total efficiency on offense, 38-70, which set a season high. Hogan also led the Chargers in rebounds, grabbing nine boards which helped lead New Haven to victory. The Chargers dominant force in the paint led to 47 total rebounds while Purchase was able to grab 28, their leading rebounder only having five.
As a team, the Chargers had 24 assists, three three-pointers, four blocks and shot 62.5% from the free-throw line. The bench scored 42 points.
“The team has been working hard both on and off the court mentally to secure wins and perform well as the newest D1 team” said center Merit Innocent. “Our practices are more focused and intense, we emphasize on being disciplined and doing all the big and little things to ensure we play to our potential every time we step on the court.”
The move to D1 overnight, while a great opportunity, comes with new challenges for this strong Chargers team to face.
“We had to prepare for a different level of competition with little time on our hands,” said Innocent. “Regardless of that I’m proud of how focused we’ve been and embracing the whole process as a team. Embracing the whole process as a team, doing our best to catch up, and prepare for this new level of play.”
After the strong victory, the Chargers hosted the Boston University Terriers, and fell short, 65-58.
The Chargers took a two point lead in the first quarter but after back-and-forth play, the Terriers regrouped and entered halftime with a 31-25 lead over New Haven.
Boston University scored 30 points in the paint, and had seven second chance points. New Haven was unable to get any fast break points, which was a dominant factor in their victory against Purchase College.
Boston University shot 63.3% on three-pointers, while the Chargers only shot 26.7%.
“We played a great overall game against the team we have never faced,” said Buff postgame. “Lindsay Hogan looked like a senior on both sides of the ball. Freshman point guard Jasmine McKay came in and gave us quality minutes and some big buckets. Merit was outstanding in 23 minutes with 14 points and four rebounds. Definitely something to build on.”
Hogan finished with 21 points, four rebounds and a steal. Innocent was the second leading scorer for the Chargers with 14 points after shooting 70% from the field.
New Haven totaled 28 rebounds, 14 assists, eight three-pointers and a perfect 6-for-6 on free throws.
The Chargers now have an overall record of 1-3. New Haven will be back in action Nov. 25 when they travel to face the Fairfield University Stags. Tip-off is at 11 a.m. in Fairfield, Conn.
Tune in on the NEC Frontrow app stream. For more information, visit NewHavenChargers.com.
