BOX SCORE
Providence, CT – The University of Hartford women's basketball team dropped its first game of the 2009-10 season 66-59 at Providence on Friday night. The loss comes in the first road game for Hartford in the young season. The Hawks fall to 2-1 overall, while the Friars improve to 3-0 on the season.
Hartford was led by senior Diana Delva who completed her third game in double figures with 13 points. She also led the Hawks in rebounding with seven boards. Delva finished the game shooting 5-of-9 form the field and added five blocks. The five blocks is the first time since February of 2009 that a Hawks player has finished with five or more blocks. Delva was the last player to do so against the Maine Black Bears.
Delva was the only Hartford player in double figures, with freshman Daphne Elliott finishing second for the Hawks with nine points and Alex Hall finishing with eight points. Jackie Smith added seven points for Hartford. The Hawks finished the game shooting 31.6 percent from the field (18-of-57), struggling in the first half, shooting 26.9 percent (7-of-26).
Providence finished with four players in double figures. Chelsea Marandola led all players in the game with 16 points, while Mi-Khida Hankins added 15 for the Friars. Hankins finished with a double double, grabbing 11 rebounds. The Friars shot 36.9 percent for the game (24-of-65), including an impressive 45.2 percent in the second half (14-of-31).
Coming out of the break, Providence extended its lead back to five less than three minutes into the half, but the Hawks answered with an 8-2 run to take their first lead of the half 34-33. Providence answered right back with a pair of layups and a free throw to regain the lead and extend it to 38-34 with 14:52 to play.
The Friars pushed that run to 10-0, taking a six-point lead with 13:08 to play in the game before the Hawks responded with an 8-0 run of their own taking a two-point lead with just under 10 minutes remaining. Providence quickly took the lead back with a free throw from Hankins and a three pointer from Emily Cournoyer.
The teams then traded the lead four times before the Friars took the lead for the final time with a layup from Marandola and then extending that lead to five, 55-50 on a jumper from Marandola. Hartford pulled as close as one on two more occasions before free throws down the stretch cemented the Friars victory.
The Hawks trailed by one going into the break, after using a late 11-0 run to pick up their first lead of the game with 1:30 remaining in the half. Smith and Brianna Winston closed out the run for Hartford with back-to-back three pointers within 24 seconds of each other.
Providence opened up the game to an early 11-2 lead, extending that lead to as much as 11 with just over 10 minutes to play before the break. The largest lead for Providence came on a three pointer from Tiffany Hurd followed by a layup from Marandola.
The Friars extended their lead back to 10 with back-to-back jumpers from Hankins broken up only be a Hawks free throw. Hartford answered by beginning their first run with a fast break layup from Elliott off a Providence turnover.
Going into halftime, the Hawks were led by Smith who finished with six points. She was one of seven players to score at least a point in the first half for Hartford. Hankins and Cournoyer led the Friars, also finishing the half with six points apiece. The Friars also spread their scoring around in the first half with seven players scoring at least one point.
The Hawks return to action on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Dartmouth Big Green in their second-straight road game. The Hawks and Big Green are scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff.
