West Hartford, CT ? The University of Hartford women's basketball team picked up a 61-54 victory over Boston University, avenging their only conference loss of the season. The Hawks were led by Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the Game Danielle Hood who finished with a game high 23 points. The Hawks improve to 18-4 overall and 8-1 in conference play.
Hood finished the game shooting 7-of-12 from the field and an impressive 9-of-11 at the free throw line. She was joined in double figures by Lisa Etienne who finished with 11 points. Today's victory is the eighth straight Hartford and the 20th at home, which is currently the longest home win streak in the nation, pending Old Dominions matchup with William & Mary on Sunday.
Boston University (12-10, 5-4 AE) finished the game with a 42 percent effort (24-of-57) from the field, while Hartford struggled in the first half and finished the game shooting 38 percent (19-of-50). The Hawks shot just 25 percent in the first 20 minutes, connecting on six of 24 attempts.
Both teams struggled to control the ball in the first half, the Terriers committing 13 turnovers, Hartford had 10 miscues. The Terriers did take advantage of the Hawks misfortunes, scoring 11 points off turnovers in the first 20 mintues.
Hartford also trailed in the battle of the boards, dropping a 37-34 decision. The Hawks rebounders were led by Erica Beverly who finished with 10 boards, the only player to pick up double digit rebounds. Etienne led the Hawks with six assists, matching her assist tally from the last game against UMBC. The Hawks also scored four blocks, led by Diana Delva who had two.
The Terriers struggled in the early going, committing three turnovers on their first three possessions. Hartford's Hood took advantage scoring the first seven points for the Hawks. Shooting wouldn't come easy for either team with the Hawks allowing an 8-2 run from BU, giving them a three point advantage with 10:06 to play in the first half.
Boston wouldn't relinquish that lead until the final four minutes of the Hawks when the Hawks scored eight straight to take a 19-15 advantage with less than a minute to play before the break. The Terriers weren't going into the break without scoring, connecting on a jumper with 35 seconds remaining and a layup with three ticks left from Christine Kinneary, tying the score at 19 going into the locker room.
BU came out of the break and scored the opening basket of the Hawks before Hartford scored an 8-0 run to take a 27-21 advantage with 16 minutes remaining. The run saw four different Hartford players score. The Terriers Krisi Dini, who scored 19 against Hartford in January, started the game missing her first six shots, but she would connect on back-to-back baskets to pull the Terriers into a 29-29 tie with 12:03 to play. Her second basket was a three pointer.
The teams would see two more ties before the Hawks went ahead for good on a Hood jumper with 8:27 remaining. The Hawks quickly extended their lead to seven with 4:59 to play after a good three pointer from Jackie Smith, her third of the game. She would finish with nine points, a career high for the rookie.
Hartford's biggest lead came with 1:20 to play following a pair of free throws from Etienne. BU hit a three pointer on the next trip down the floor and Kinneary forced a Hawks turnover with 57 seconds remaining but couldn't come up with a point on that set. The capitalized on a missed three pointerswith 44 second remaining pushing the length of the floor for an uncontested layup from Hood, securing the Hartford victory.
The Hawks will next play on the road at Vermont on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. The Hawks and Catamounts game is part of the America East's PackCast, an enhanced streaming opportunity available on HartfordHawks.com and AmericaEast.com.
