West Hartford, CT ? The University of Hartford women's basketball team posted its largest margin of victory in a conference game, winning its 19th straight at Chase Arena 67-39 over the UMBC Retrievers on Tuesday night. The Hawks were led the Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the Game Courtney Gomez who finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, all from beyond the three point arc.
Danielle Hood led the Hawks (17-4, 7-1 AE) in the scoring column with 13 points on 6-of-12 from the field. Joining Hood and Gomez in double figures was Diana Delva who finished with 12 points on 6-of-7 from the field. Erica Beverly led all players in the rebounding category with 12 boards, tying her season best.
The Hawks held UMBC (6-15, 2-6 AE) to 32 percent (16-of-50) from the field, including just six baskets (in 19 attempts) in the first half. The Retrievers were led by Chelsea Baker who finished with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Hartford finished the game shooting 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field, including 52 percent in the first 20 minutes (15-of-29).
Hartford finished the game with 20 assists, one shy of the season best for the team. Lisa Etienne led the Hawks with six assists, while seven different Hartford players had at least one assist. Delva also finished the game with three blocks, tying her season best. The Hawks forced UMBC into 22 turnovers, converting those miscues into 29 points. They also saw a 31-17 advantage in points in the paint.
The teams opened the game slow, combining to shoot 3-of-15 in the first six plus minutes. Hartford opened the game missing its first four shots, while the Retrievers missed their first three. The first basket of the game came with 16:53 remaining when Chantay Frazier scored on a layup. The Hawks first basket came on the next possession when Hood scored on a second chance attempt.
The Hawks would respond to the early drought by taking a 25-7 lead with 8:18 to play, forcing the Retrievers to use four of their five timeouts. The Hawks used a 15-0 run to pull out to their first double digit lead. The run featured back-to-back three pointers from Gomez, and the first three pointer of the game for Hartford, that coming from Mary Silvia.
Hartford took a 37-14 advantage into the locker room at the break, scoring the final seven points of the first half. Hood scored five of the final seven points of the first stanza, going into the locker room with a game best nine points.
Hartford came out of the break and extended its lead to 36, scoring the first 13 points of the second half. The first UMBC basket of the second half came with 15:14 to play, after the Retrievers missed their first seven attempts and turned the ball over three times in that span.
UMBC answered the Hawks run by scoring six straight to put the score at 50-20 with 13:44 to play. Hartford would re-extend its lead to 36 on a pair of occasions, the last coming with 7:57 to play on a Delva jumper. The Hawks final basket of the game came on a Jonyce Hollins jump shot with 2:20 to play. UMBC scored the final five points of the game pulling their deficit under 30 to end the game.
The Hawks will continue a two-game home stand with Boston University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The game will be part of the WBCA's Think Pink Initiative, helping to raise awareness for Breast Cancer. The Hawks also welcome former women's basketball players back to Chase Arena as well as celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
