West Hartford, CT - The Hartford Hawks women's basketball team won its third straight by virtue of a 23-point rout of the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen 68-45 on Wednesday evening at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. The Hawks (7-3 overall) were led by Danielle Hood who finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. UMass falls to 7-2 overall.
Defense was key for the Hawks, holding the Minutewomen to only six field goals in the first half (6-of-21) for a 28.6 first stanza shooting percentage. Hartford forced UMass into 15 turnovers and recorded seven blocks, tying a season best, including a career high three from Ikea Witt. Witt also added three assists, two steals, seven points and four rebounds with a 3-of-6 shooting effort for the game.
Hood was joined in double digits by MaryLynne Schaefer and Lisa Etienne. Schaefer, the Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the Game, added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 from long range. Etienne finished with a 5-of-8 effort from the field for 11 points. Diana Delva led the Hawks rebounding efforts with nine boards in 25 minutes of action, a season high. The rookie finished with five points and added a pair of blocks.
The Minutewomen tied the score twice in the first 10 minutes of the game, with the second coming with 9:56 to play in the first half. Hartford's biggest lead in the first 10 points came at 13-6 on a put back layup form Katie Kelley. UMass tied the score before a three pointer from Jamie McCabe began a 15-2 run which opened the Hawks lead to 28-15. UMass scored the final four points of the half to go into the locker room down nine.
After UMass opened the half with a 7-2 run to pull within five with 17:19 to play in the game. A pair of free throws from Hood with 12:39 to play began a 13-3 run, giving the Hawks a 23 point lead. The run spanned four minutes and featured five different scorers for Hartford. UMass cut the Hawks lead lower than 20 once in the final eight minutes of the game with the Hawks largest lead of 23 coming on four different occasions.
Hartford will return to the road for one game before the final exam break. Hartford will meet Michigan State in the Dicks Sporting Good Spartan Clash at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Saturday at 12:00 noon.
