Boxscore

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Senior forward Kate Lynch (Rumford, R.I.) finished one shy of her career high and led all scorers with 33 points on Sunday evening as the No. 2 nationally ranked Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team defeated New Haven 77-66 in non-conference action at Charger Gymnasium. Lynch also finished with a game-high 11 rebounds to post her second double-double of the season. Junior guard Briiana Rende led New Haven with 19 points in defeat. With the win, SCSU improves to 2-1 (1-1 NE-10) while New Haven falls to 0-2 (0-0 ECC) with the loss.

New Haven opened the game with an 11-4 run over the first five-plus minutes, highlighted by seven points on three field goals from sophomore guard Helin Marte. However, SCSU would roar back with a run of their own to take the lead prior to the halfway point of the opening stanza. Over about four minutes leading up to the midpoint of the half, the Owls ran off a 19-5 run keyed by eight points, including a pair of three-pointers, from junior guard Lexi Allen (Southbury, Conn.). Lynch chipped in five points on the run while senior forward Rochelle Johnson (Norwalk, Conn.) added four points of her own. The run gave SCSU a 24-16 lead with 9:42 to play in the opening period. The Owls would eventually head into the halftime break with a 41-30 lead.

For SCSU, Lynch nearly amassed a double-double in the first half. She led all scorers with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting and also led all rebounders with eight boards heading into the intermission. Senior guard Michelle Martinik (Masuk, Conn.) and Johnson each finished with four rebounds in the first half, while Johnson also added seven points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and a free throw.

For New Haven, Marte and Rende led the way with eight points apiece in the first half with a combined 7-for-14 performance from the floor. Sophomore forward Alysia Saunders led the Chargers with six rebounds as SCSU out-rebounded New Haven 25-19 in the opening 20 minutes.

The second half featured mostly back-and-forth action with the two teams trading baskets. With a layup at the 13:47 mark, Lynch picked up her 28th and 29th points of the game to set a new SCSU season high, as she bettered her own mark of 28 points against Bentley on Nov. 20. Each team would score 36 points in the second half as SCSU posted the 11-point victory.

Lynch would finish one shy of her career high with 33 points on 13-for-23 shooting from the field and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line. Lynch added a game-best 11 rebounds to pick up her second consecutive double-double. Allen joined her in double figures with 13 points of her own on 5-for-8 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point range. Freshman guard Logan Lentz (Chambersburg, Pa.) finished with a career-high eight points for the Owls.

For New Haven, Rende led three players in double figures with 19 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the floor. Marte added 13 points on her own with 5-for-9 shooting and Saunders finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds to notch a double-double.

SCSU shot 30-for-62 (48.4%) from the floor, 4-for-15 (26.7%) from three-point range and 13-for-20 (65.0%) from the free-throw line on the evening.

New Haven shot 26-for-63 (41.3%) from the field, 4-for-12 (33.3%) from behind the arc and 10-for-18 (55.6%) from the charity stripe.

The Owls return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 28 when they travel to visit Le Moyne in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Ted Grant Court in Syracuse, N.Y.