West Hartford, CT - The University of Hartford women's basketball team returned to the win column with a 74-44 victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at Chase Arena. The Hawks were led by Diana Delva, the Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the Game, who finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 from the field. The Hawks improve to 19-5 overall and 9-2 in America East play.
Delva was one of four players in double figures, she also led the Hawks in rebounding with seven boards, tying with rookie Jonyce Hollins, whose seven rebounds set a career high. Joining Delva in double figures was Danielle Hood with 14, MaryLynne Schaefer with 13, all in the first half, and Mary Silvia who set a new career record with 11 points.
Silvia finished the game shooting 3-of-5 from the field, while going a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line. As a team, the Hawks shot 36.9 percent from the field, but held the Wildcats to 25 percent, including 21 percent in the first half as the Hawks quickly build their double digit lead around the hot first half shooting of Schaefer, who finished 4-of-6 from the field in the first 20 minutes, all from beyond the arc.
Also seeing a career high on the afternoon was Courtney Gomez whose seven assists, ties her career mark set earlier this season at Kansas. The Hawks finished with 18 total assists, including four from Jamie McCabe. The Hawks also picked up 12 steals, led by a season best of four for Schaefer. Hartford forced the Wildcats into 24 turnovers and converted those miscues into 26 points.
Hartford never trailed in the game, the fourth time since beginning conference play that the Hawks have not trailed an opponent. The Hawks 74 points is the highest point total in conference play this season, the previous high was 71 against New Hampshire in January.
Hartford opened up with their first two baskets three pointers, allowing for a 7-2 lead in the first four minutes. The first three pointer came from McCabe, while Schaefer hit her first, of four in the half, with 16:06 to play before the break. The Hawks then used a 12-0 run, concluded by back-to-back three pointers from Schaefer, to take a 22-5 lead with 10:11 to play before the intermission.
Following a Jill McDonald layup with 9:55 to play, the Hawks scored another 12 straight, holding the Wildcats to only McDonald's layup through nearly an eight minute span. The Hawks biggest lead of the half came on three different occasions at 28, the final with 43 seconds remaining in the half off a Hood layup. Hartford took a 41-17 advantage into the locker room at the break.
The teams traded baskets for the first seven minutes of the second half, before Hartford put its lead back at 28 with 12:54 remaining in the game. After the Wildcats knocked the deficit to 24, Hartford scored six straight to pull ahead by 30 with 9:11 remaining.
Hartford extended its lead to 33 off a pair of free throws from Katie Kelley with 5:39 to play, and saw its biggest lead of the game come at 34 with 1:46 to play in regulation. The Wildcats scored the final points of the game, dropping the 30-point decision.
Hartford will be back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Binghamton University for a tilt at the Events Center in Vestal, NY. The Hawks and Bearcats will tip off at 7:00 p.m. Fans can listen to the action live on WWUH 91.3 FM or online at HartfordHawks.com.
