West Hartford, CT - The University of Hartford women's basketball team picked up a 20-point, 57-37, victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats on Senior Day at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks were led by the Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the Game Lisa Etienne, who finished with nine points, five rebounds and five assists. Hartford closes out the regular season with a 19-10 overall record and a 14-2 mark in conference play.

Diana Delva led all Hartford scorers with 10 points, the only player to finish in double figures for Hartford. New Hampshire's Candace Williams led all players in the game with 15 points, she was named the Wildcats America East Player of the Game. Also scoring well for Hartford was Katie Kelley with eight points, Jackie Smith with seven points and Erica Beverly with six points, while all but three Hartford players finished with at least one point.

Hartford finished the game shooting 45 percent from the field (24-of-53) and was 5-of-18 from long range (28 percent). The Hawks did struggle at the line, connecting on just 4-of-9. The Hawks also won the battle of the boards by a 39-33 margin, led by Etienne, Beverly and Delva who all finished with five boards. Defensively, the Hawks held New Hampshire to 25 percent from the field (13-of-52) and forced them into 16 turnovers.

The Hawks took a 35-20 advantage into the break, fueled by a 52 percent first half shooting percentage (15-of-29). The Hawks quickly opened a double digit lead, 12-2, after opening the game with back-to-back three pointers from Etienne and MaryLynne Schaefer in the first 49 seconds. Back-to-back layups from Kelley gave Hartford its first double digit lead with 16:38 remaining in the first half.

The Hawks allowed New Hampshire to pull within three, 15-12, with 11:55 to play in the first half. The Hawks answered by going on a 15-3 run to pull back ahead by double digits, and what would be the largest lead of the first half 15 points, 30-15. That run saw back-to-back layups from Etienne off feeds from Beverly and Mary Silvia and was capped off by a Silvia three pointer off a return favor from Etienne. Etienne led the Hawks going into the break with seven points.

The closest New Hampshire would come in the second half was 12 points after scoring five-straight points on a three pointer from Amy Simpson and a Williams layup. Hartford answered back by scoring nine-straight to take a 48-27 lead with 11:45 to play in the game.

Hartford biggest lead came with 4:05 remaining on a three pointer from Smith, to go ahead 56-33. The Hawks would score just one more point on a free throw from Jenna Peterson.

Hartford will enter the 2009 America East Women's Basketball Championship as the second seed and take on the seventh seeded Stony Brook Seawolves in the quarterfinals on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Fans can still purchase all-session packages from the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Ticket Office by calling (860) 768-HAWK. Individual session tickets will go on sale on the morning of Monday, March 9.