West Hartford, CT ? The University of Hartford women's basketball team clinched at least a share of the regular season America East title with a 58-40 victory over visiting Maine on Tuesday night. The title is the second-straight for the Hawks who close out the regular season with a match-up at UMBC on Saturday.
The win also completes a regular season sweep in home conference play for the second-straight year and the Hawks have now won 24-straight conference games at Chase Arena a the Reich Family Pavilion including games hosted in the America East Championship.
The Hawks had double figure nights from MaryLynne Schaefer, Ikea Witt and Diana Delva. Schaefer, the Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the Game, led all scorers with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Delva and Witt each added 10 points. Witt along with seniors Kate DiDonato and Danielle Matulis were honored prior to their final game in front of a home crowd at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion.
The Black Bears had the Hawks number in the early going, holding the Hawks to 1-of-10 shooting in the first six minutes. Hartford finished the first half shooting 29 percent from the field (9-of-31) but rebounded in the second half to shoot 51.9 percent from the field (14-of-27). The Hawks also boasted a 48-28 advantage on the boards with Lisa Etienne and Katie Kelley each adding eight.
Maine finished the game shooting 31.5 percent from the field (17-of-54) and was led by Bracey Barker who finished with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Barker was named Maine's America East Player of the Game.
After falling behind 6-0 in the early minutes the Hawks used a 6-0 run and a 11-0 run to take a 25-13 advantage into the locker room at the break. Schaefer led all scorers in the first half with eight points, while adding three assists. Hartford extended its lead to 20 with 13:38 to play in the game, scoring 15 of the first 22 points of the second half. Witt led the Hawks in the first seven minutes of the second half with seven of the first 15 points.
Hartford will close out the regular season on Saturday at UMBC in Baltimore, MD. The Hawks and Retrievers will tip-off at 7:00 p.m.
