Provo, UT ? The University of Hartford women's basketball team opened a nine-day road trip with a 70-59 win at Brigham Young University on Tuesday evening. The Hawks were led by Jamie McCabe, one of four players in double figures, who finished with 13 points. Hartford is now 3-1 overall, while the Cougars fall to 2-2 on the season.
“I was pleased with our guard play offensively because we never really got our post game going,” said head coach Jennifer Rizzotti. “I thought BYU did a great job making it difficult to score on the block. The aggressiveness of Lisa going to the hoop and Jamie, Marylynne and Amanda stepping up and making threes was instrumental in our success. We are very happy with the win on the road, BYU is a team that consistently makes the NCAA Tournament and is a tough team to beat at home, so this is a great road win for us.”
McCabe finished the game shooting 4-of-6 from the field, three of which were three pointers. Joining her in double figures was Lisa Etienne and Amanda Weaver who each had 12 and Erica Beverly who finished with 10. Weaver's 12 points is a career best for her and a season best for the freshman class. Weaver finished with three baskets in five attempts, while going 4-of-6 from the free throw line.
As a team, the Hawks shot 35.4 percent from the field, 17-of-48. Hartford shot 30 percent in the first half and improved that to 44 percent for the second stanza. The Hawks posted a 43-36 advantage on the boards, led by Diana Delva who finished with seven rebounds. The Hawks made 29 total free throws in 38 attempts for a 76.3 percent effort at the stripe.
A three-pointer with three seconds left before the break gave the Cougars a one-point advantage going into the locker room. The Hawks started the game hot, scoring 11 points in the first 3:50 to take a nine-point advantage. McCabe hit two of her three pointers in the opening minutes, including the first basket of the game.
BYU battled to take their first lead of the game with 9:27 remaining in the first half. The lead came on three-straight baskets, a three-pointer from Mindy Nielson, a layup from Shawnee Slade and a layup from Cassie King. Hartford answered the Cougars run with a three pointer from MaryLynne Schaefer to retake the lead with 8:21 to play. The Hawks extended that lead to as much as seven before the Cougars scored the final five point of the half including the three from Slade for the halftime advantage.
The teams would trade baskets for the first 6:17 of the half, tying the score five times. Hartford then began to pull away with Weaver scoring six of the next seven points, including a three pointer. Hartford opened its lead to as much as 15 with 4:52 to play. That lead came on six-straight free throws from Beverly, Etienne and Weaver. BYU ended the game scoring five of the final seven points. Hartford's final points in the game came on a pair of free throws with 19 seconds to play from Mary Silvia.
The Hawks continue the early season road trip with three games in the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic beginning with a Friday morning (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time) match up with UAB.
