New Haven Women's Basketball Narrowly Falls in Season Opener to AIC

WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Despite a strong first half lead, the University of New Haven women's basketball team dropped its 2010-11 season opener Wednesday night 59-58 to American International College. With the loss the Yellow Jackets improve to 2-0 on the season.

Behind stellar play from freshman Anh-Dao Tran and Yasmin Ithier-Vicenty, the Chargers held a comfortable 31-17 lead at halftime. UNH came out and took a six-point lead over the first four minutes. The Chargers then went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes and took a commanding 13-point lead, 26-13, with 4:27 left in the half. New Haven also scored five of the final nine points of the first half in order to hold a 14-point lead.

Ithier-Vicenty scored eight points in the first half, added to five rebounds. Tran handed out four assists and also grabbed five rebounds. UNH also shot 41.2 percent from the floor, while holding AIC to 25 percent in the first half.

AIC came out of the locker room and scored the first 10 points of the second half as the Chargers struggled connecting on shots. Over the first six minutes UNH went 0-for-7 with three turnovers, allowing the Yellow Jackets to rally and get right back in the game with 14 minutes left. AIC took their first lead off a jumper by Adriana Johnson with 13:05 left in the second half. Both teams played tight for the remainder of the game, while neither team led by more than six points. In the final minutes, Michelle Lafond connected from downtown to put the Yellow Jackets ahead by one-point with 2:08 remaining. Tran answered with an over the back layup just 14-seconds later.

The Yellow Jackets would gain the lead for good on their next possession as Johnson put in a two-pointer to give AIC a 57-56 lead with 1:29 remaining. The Chargers missed four shots in the final minute which would have helped them to victory, but the Yellow Jackets defense held tough and sealed the victory.

Senior Dominique Stellmacher led the Chargers with 19 points and nine rebounds. She also had three assists and two blocks for the Chargers. Ithier-Vicenty finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while DeMarco added 11 boards and seven points.

The Chargers struggled on the board, getting out-rebounded 48-42. The Yellow Jackets also recorded 20 offensive rebounds for 12 second-chance points. The Chargers finished the game shooting 38.7 percent from the floor, while AIC connected on 32.8 percent of its shots.

The Chargers return to action on Saturday, November 20 when they travel to C.W. Post. The game will tip off at 1:30 p.m. in New York. Live statistics and live audio will be available from the C.W. Post campus.