Baltimore, MD - The University of Hartford women's basketball team picked up its 10th conference victory in a 72-43 win against UMBC at RAC Arena. The Hawks improved their overall record to 15-9 (10-1 in the America East), while the Retrievers dropped to 13-12 with a 5-7 record in conference play.
Hartford finished the game shooting 45 percent from the field (27-60), shooting 57 percent in the second half. Three players finished in double figures for Hartford, with each of the three shooting 50 percent or greater from the field. The Hawks' defense held the Retrievers to 24 percent shooting from the floor, while forcing 18 turnovers. Hartford turned those 18 turnovers into 23 points. The Hawks also won the battle of the boards, by a margin of 46-35.
Leading the Hawks was freshman guard Ilicia Mathis, the America East Player of the Game. Mathis matched her career-high with a game-high 17 points in 23 minutes on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. She also grabbed six boards to go along with three assists and two steals. Following Mathis was junior forward Diana Delva who finished the game with 11 points off a perfect 5-5 shooting performance from the field while adding five rebounds. Sophomore Mary Silvia shot 50-percent from the field (4-of-8), including 3-of-6 from behind the arc, for 11 points. Senior Katie Kelley and junior Erica Beverly each added 8 points, while pulling down eight and nine rebounds, respectively.
Both teams got off to a slow start, with the score locked at a 4-2 Hartford lead until 13:33 remaining in the half. For the remainder of the half, Hartford and UMBC traded baskets, with the Hawks never trailing in the stanza. Despite shooting just 34 percent, the Hawks' defense held the Retrievers to 15 percent shooting (4-26) from the field in the first stanza. Hartford's defense forced eight UMBC turnovers, which the Hawks converted into 11 points. The Hawks took their first double digit lead in the final seconds of the half following a 7-0 run. Mathis led Hartford in the run with the final five points on a layup and a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining in the half to give the Hawks a 12 point lead heading into the break.
The Hawks opened the second half with a 23-8 run over the first eight minutes of the stanza to push the score to 52-28. Mathis contributed with seven points during the stretch, which included an old fashion three-point play to spark the run. Hartford extended the lead to 28 off of a Mathis jumper with 9:06 remaining in the final half. The Hawks largest lead in the game came in the final minutes when they took a 70-38 advantage on a three pointer by Silvia.
UMBC was led by Michelle Kurowski, who finished with a team-high 10 points, two rebounds and an assist. Erin Brown contributed with seven points and a team-leading seven boards. Hartford's defense held Carlee Cassidy, the leading scorer in the America East conference who averaged 22.1 points-per-game, to just four points off 1-10 shooting, her lowest point total of the season.
Hartford returns to action on Saturday afternoon at University at Albany for a 2:00 p.m. showdown. The Hawks defeated the Great Danes 73-47 on January 31 at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion.
