West Hartford, CT - For the fourth time in as many years the University of Hartford women's basketball team (26-5) will play for an America East Championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Hartford defeated the Albany Great Danes (13-18) in the semifinals on Saturday by a score of 60-40. The Hawks will take on the Boston University Terriers in the title game, the third time in the last four years the two teams have met in the championship game. The America East Championship will be decided at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion on Sunday with tip-off time set for 5:00 p.m.
The Hawks were led in today's semifinal by senior Danielle Hood who finished with game highs of 18 points and nine rebounds, one shy of her second career double double. The forward/center finished the game shooting 7-of-11 from the field and connected on all four of her free throw attempts. Two other player finished in double figures for Hartford, Erica Beverly added 15 and Lisa Etienne added 10. Etienne also finished the game tying her career high with nine assists.
The hawks shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) as a team. Beverly finished the game shooting 6-of-10 from the field while grabbing seven rebounds. She also did not miss at the free throw line in three attempts. Diana Delva finished the game with eight points and six rebounds, going 4-of-8 from the field.
Albany kept things interesting in the early going, taking a lead 15-10 lead using an 11-0 run. The run featured a pair of old fashioned three point plays from Janea Aiken and Amira Ford and ended with a Britney McGee three points with 10:44 to play before the break.
Hartford answered the Great Danes with its own 7-0 run to regain the lead, a lead they wouldn't relinquish again. The Hawks run concluded with a three pointer from Etienne and spanned 2:30. The Hawks biggest lead of the first half was eight and came on two different occasions, following layups from Delva and Ettiene.
The Hawks took a six point advantage into the break, scoring the final two points of the half on free throws from Erica Beverly with three seconds remaining. Hood led the Hawks in the first half with 10 points, while Gia Sanders led all players with 11.
Hartford came out of halftime and extended its lead to nine on a layup from Beverly with 18:10 remaining. The Great Danes would only get as close as six points for the remainder of the game and that came with 16:27 to play. The Hawks first double digit lead of the game came with 10:23 remaining, following five straight points, including a three pointer from senior Courtney Gomez.
Beverly put the Hawks ahead by 20 for the first time with 4:45 remaining on a layup. The teams would score just two more times in the final four minutes, with the last points of game scored off a layup by Jonyce Hollins with 38 seconds remaining.
Boston University advanced to the championship game with a 76-74 double overtime thriller over the Vermont Catamounts in the night cap. The Terriers were led by Cheri Raffo who finished with 22 points.
