Orono, ME ? The Hartford women's basketball team opened up hot and held on to an early 10-0 lead at the Alfond Arena on Saturday for its fourth-straight America East victory 66-50 over Maine. The Hawks were led by the first collegiate double double for Lisa Etienne (Norwalk, Conn.), while getting double digit outings from Danielle Hood and Ikea Witt. Hartford is now 13-7 overall and 6-1 in America East play, while the Black Bears drop to 10-9 overall and an even 4-4 in conference action.
Etienne scored five second half points and grabbed five second half rebounds to secure her first double double, finishing with 10 points and rebounds. The 10 boards is a career high for the sophomore transfer. Witt led all scorers in the game with 21 points on 7-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Hood finished with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while the Hawks finished the game shooting 24-of-58 (41.4 percent). Etienne also added five assists and three steals for the visitors.
“I felt our kids played a great combination of offense and defense today,” said head coach Jennifer Rizzotti. “Anytime you play a team that is led by its seniors, you know they aren't going to just let it go. Danielle (Hood) didn't get frustrated after scoring only four points in the first half and being double teamed on every play, that shows a lot for her maturity as a player.”
The Hawks defense came out hot in the stone-cold Alfond Arena, holding the Black Bears to one basket in the first six attempts, taking an early 10-0 lead, and quickly extending it to 15 in the first 12 minutes. The Black Bears were held without a basket for the first 3:45, going 0-3 with three turnovers in that span.
Maine began to warm-up to the Arena, using a 7-0 run to pull within single digits, 22-14. Sandra Vaitkute started the run with back-to-back baskets and a three pointer from Ashley Underwood ended the run with 5:11 to play before the break. Maine continued to chip away at the Hawks lead, pulling as close as five with just under two minutes to play, but Hartford would score the final basket of the half on a layup from Witt with 39 ticks on the clock.
Witt led all scorers in the first half, the only player in double digits. She finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. The Hawks held a commanding lead on the boards with a 26-12 advantage at the break, while shooting 33.3 percent on 11-of-33 from the field. Maine, ended the half hotter than they began, shooting 41.7 percent for the first twenty minutes (10-of-24). Abby Greene led the Black Bears with five points, seven total Maine players scored in the first half.
The Black Bears came out strong in the second half, putting themselves one possession away from a tie. Bracey Barker came out of the locker room and hit a three 56 seconds into the second half. She followed that up with a put back jumper for a 32-29 score.
Hartford wasn't going to let the game slip away, going on a 9-0 run to pull back ahead by double digits, 41-29. The run saw six points from Hood and a three pointer from MaryLynne Schaefer. A second 9-0 run led to the Hawks taking a 16-point advantage with 5:44 to play in regulation. That run saw another four points from Hood.
The Hawks continue on a two-game road trek with a mid-morning game at Boston University on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.
