Honolulu, HI - The University of Hartford women's basketball team will play for its first championship of the season against the Virginia Cavaliers in the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic on Sunday after defeating the host Hawaii Rainbow Wahine 76-63 in semifinal action. The Hawks were led by senior Danielle Hood who finished with 17 points. Hartford improves to 5-1 overall, while the Rainbow are 4-2.
“So far we have done what we came here to do which is put ourselves in the position to win a championship,” said head coach Jennifer Rizzotti. “I am pleased with our play today, especially the kids off the bench, they came in and gave us a big lift, allowing us to rest our starters. We are excited about the opportunity to play Virginia, they are a great program and playing them will allow us to learn more about ourselves.”
The Hawks shot 52 percent from the field (33-64) with Hood going 7-of-14 on the way to her fifth double digit showing of the season and her game-high. Joining her in double figures was Diana Delva and Erica Beverly. Diana finished with 12, shooting 6-of-8 for the game, Beverly was a perfect 5-of-5 for 10 points.
Hartford finished with a slight 37-36 advantage on the boards led by Delva who had six. The Hawks did allow Hawaii to grab 15 offensive boards. Lisa Etienne finished the game five assists, while Hartford had 15 total.
Hartford opened the game to a 9-0 lead holding the Rainbow without a basket for the first 5:27, with the host going 0-10 in that span. Delva scored the first two baskets of the game, with Lisa Etienne and MaryLynne Schaefer adding baskets in that span. Hartford then scored six-straight over a three minute span to take their first double digit lead of the game 19-8 with 9:54 to play.
The Rainbow chipped into the Hawks lead with five-straight to pull within six and then brought it back to six with 7:18 to play. Hartford returned the lead to double digits with nine-straight to go up 33-17. The run saw baskets from Hood, Schaefer and a pair of baskets from Katie Kelley.
The Rainbow opened the second half scoring three of the first baskets to pull the lead under ten for the last time. Following that, the Hawks saw six-straight points from Hood off feeds form Etienne and Schaefer, giving the Hawks a 15 point advantage with 16 minutes to play. A second six-point run extended the Hawks lead to 19, 60-41 with 11:44 to play. Kacey Pratt gave Hartford four points in the run.
Back-to-back layups from Delva, with five minutes remaining, put the Hawks lead at 18 before the Rainbow Wahine put themselves within 11 with 1:52 to play. Hartford battled to score four of the final six points to guarantee the victory.
Hartford will take on the Virginia Cavaliers for the tournament championship at 5:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. Eastern Time) from Honolulu, HI.
