West Hartford, CT ? The Hartford Hawks women's basketball team held the Vermont Catamounts to their lowest offensive output of the season for a 56-42 victory at Chase Arena on Saturday. Hartford was led by Diana Delva who finished with her second career double double, and second in three games, with 18 points and 16 rebounds, tying her career high.
Hartford (17-7, 9-1 America East) allowed eight unanswered points in the first two minutes of the game but snapped back to take a 27-22 lead into the locker room at the break. During the first half, junior Danielle Hood became the 10th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. She is also only the third player in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau by their junior season. Hood finished the game with 11 points.
Joining Hood and Delva in double digits was Ikea Witt with 14. Delva finished the game with a 6-of-10 effort from the field and 6-of-12 from the free throw line, while Witt finished 6-of-9 shooting. As a team the Hawks shot 41.7 percent (20-of-48). Delva was named the Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the Game for her efforts. The Hawks also took advantage of 21 Vermont (15-8, 5-5 America East) fouls, scoring 15 points at the free throw line. Both teams finished the game tied in rebounding with 42 a piece. Delva led the Hawks, with Danielle Matulis grabbing eight boards in her second start of the season. Amy Rosenkrantz led the Catamounts with seven boards.
The Hawks also took advantage of 12 Vermont turnovers, scoring 15 points. The Hawks inside game provided 30 points in the paint, compared to only 16 from the Catamounts. Hartford's defense, currently ranked sixth best in the nation (as of Feb. 8), held the Catamounts to just 25.4 percent shooting (15-of-59), including a season low for a Hartford opponent of 18.8 percent in the second half (6-of-32). The Hawks strong defense also held the Catamounts leading scorer, Courtney Pilypaitis, to only five points, tying her season low; she averages 14.1 points-per-game. Andrea Cihal and May Kotsopolous led the Catamounts, each with 10 points. Cihal was named Vermont's America East Player of the Game after finishing a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 at the free throw line.
Following the slow start for Hartford, the Hawks allowed only four points in the final seven minutes of the first half to take a 27-22 lead into the break. Hood led the Hawks in the first half with eight points. Hartford then came out of the locker room and held the Catamounts to only one basket n the first 10:54. Vermont scored only three points in that stretch.
The Hawks will continue their only home stand of the season (three games) when they host Albany on February 17. That game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. and will be aired live on STN Channel 2, the Hartford student television station.
