Know Your Foe-ette: New Haven
By: Dallas Bowlin
Senior Staff Writer/Editor/Host
All Vol Call In Show
The fever dream that was Tennessee on the road against Coppin State, inside the Physical Education Complex, has come and gone. The first half wasn’t always pretty, but in the end, the Lady Vols won by 38, so it’s hard to complain at all.
Next up on the docket is a first-time matchup with the New Haven Chargers of the Northeast Conference (NEC).
RETURNEES:
G Renelle Grannum: Scoreless in seven minutes played in the first game.
G Eveani Okwuosa: Scored nine points in 12 minutes played in the first game.
G Teaira Kelley: Scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the first game.
G Mallory Farr: Scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in eight minutes.
G Jasmine McKay: Scored six points in 11 minutes.
G Samantha Battle: Scored six points in seven minutes.
G Jeanna Pierantoni: Scored four points in 10 minutes.
C Simone Pugh-Greaves: Scoreless in 10 minutes.
G Schuyler Coles: Scored two points in nine minutes.
LOSSES:
F Aniya McDonald-Perry (Graduated): 11.1 PPG, 9.1 REBS, 2.3 AST, 2.7 STLS, 1.0 BLKS
G Katelyn Simpson (Reason for Departure Unknown): 1.6 PPG, 1.7 REBS, 1.3 AST
G Lindsay Hogan (Graduated): 11.9 PPG, 5.4 REBS, 2.3 AST, 38.7% FG, 28.8% 3PT FG
G/F Katie Drozd (In Portal): 1.9 PPG.
G Mikayla Taylor (In Portal): 1.6 PPG.
F Addisen Sulikowski (Transferred to Southern Connecticut State University): 9.2 PPG, 5.2 REBS, 1.2 ASTS, 41.8% FG, 37.5% 3PT FG
C Shannon McCarthy (Transferred to Saint Michael’s College): 1.2 PPG.
C Merit Innocent (Transferred to Morgan State): 7.0 PPG, 4.5 REBS in two games.
NEWCOMERS:
Freshman G/F Tanavia Turpin
Freshman G Ailani Davila
Freshman G Kaydence Daniels
Freshman G/F Kate Hennessy
Freshman G Mia Gamon
Freshman F Tanaiya Clark
Sophomore G Laura Vera Ramirez (Albany transfer): Scored 14 points in 21 minutes.
Sophomore G Carla Ramirez (Central Arkansas transfer): Scored 1 point, dished out five assists, and totaled five steals in 24 minutes.
Sophomore F Claudia Lazaro (Rider transfer): Scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 16 minutes.
TEAM SUMMARY:
New Haven just recently reclassified from a Division II school to a Division I school in 2025. The Lady Chargers are led by ninth-year head coach Debbie Buff, who has a record of 95-99 during her time at New Haven and an overall coaching record of 306-299.
Last season, the Lady Chargers went 7-22 overall and finished 5-13 in conference. They finished 328th overall on Barttorvik, with an adjusted offensive rating of 96.4 (350th) and an adjusted defensive rating of 111.6 (228th).
New Haven has played one game so far this season against the Division III Mitchell Mariners; they won that contest 103-44, shooting 47% from the field, 32% from three, and forcing 40 total turnovers. They wound up scoring around 122-123 points per 100 possessions, which is impressive, but again, it’s against a DIII school.
Teaira Kelley led the Chargers with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field; Tanavia Turpin followed with 21 points and nine rebounds, and Laura Vera Ramirez scored 14.
OFFENSE:
Offensively, Coach Buff keeps things pretty simple. Her half-court offense emphasizes establishing a low-post presence, aiming to maximize looks around the rim and create potential kick-out opportunities to shooters.
I tried finding game footage, but outside of a couple of short clips, I can’t find anything worth using… well, this is awkward. On to the defense!
DEFENSE:
We have a little more meat on the bone here, thankfully. Coach Buff is known for dropping back on defense and getting into her zone defense. In 2020, her zone defense finished ninth in the nation, holding teams to 53.7 PPG.
Throughout her career, her teams have been known to have very stingy, disciplined defenses. The Chargers have allowed the fewest total points in their conference and were one of only three teams to hold opponents under 62 PPG.
The track record of success goes pretty far back, to her time at Division II Wheeling Jesuit, where she won back-to-back conference championships.
HOW TENNESSEE CAN WIN:
Take advantage of the zone. So far this season, the Lady Vols are shooting 37% from beyond the arc, a 6.5% increase from last season’s mark. Constant ball movement and making the zone collapse will lead to wide-open shooters. Knock them down, and it will cause problems for the Lady Chargers.
Rebound the ball. Kinda playing off of point one, zone defenses are susceptible to allowing offensive rebounds. The Chargers fared pretty well last season on the boards, finishing 199th in defensive rebounding, but opportunities will be there against the zone.
Don’t bail them out. Tennessee sent Coppin State to the line 27 times. That’s a tad bit concerning. You have the talent advantage; don’t let the game be easier on them than it should be by giving them free opportunities to score.
HOW NEW HAVEN CAN WIN:
Look, I won’t lie to you. Outside of finding Michael Jordan’s secret stuff, winning this game for the Lady Chargers seems as probable as Ella Langley deciding to slide into my DMs. We have to be realistic here. However, there are ways they can keep it somewhat close.
Force turnovers. Tennessee turned the ball over 15 times against Coppin State, compared to only 7 against Duquesne. Fifteen may not be enough to make it a sweat, but if New Haven can force, say, 20? They may be able to make the crowd at TBA just a tad bit nervous.
Don’t let the Lady Vols get hot. Three-point opportunities will come for Tennessee, but New Haven has to do its best to limit them. Or at least get as good of a contest as possible if they want to keep it respectable.
PREDICTION:
It’s an uphill fight for the Lady Chargers, and there’s an avalanche coming down that hill. I don’t expect them to give up or quit, though; that isn’t in their DNA under Coach Buff. This isn't a slight toward her or the program. It’s just realistic. Tennessee improves to 3-0.
Tennessee - 115 | New Haven - 55
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