Boston, MA – The University of Hartford women's basketball used its tough defense to hold off a second half attack by the Boston University Terriers to win 52-44 on Thursday night. The Hawks improve to 15-3 overall and remain undefeated in conference play, 6-0, to take over sole possession of first place in the America East.

Hartford was led by freshman Ruthanne Doherty who finished with a career-high 15 points. Joining her in leading the team was senior Erica Beverly who compiled her fourth double double of the season with 11 points and 16 rebounds, which ties her career-high. Rounding out the leading scorers for Hartford was Jackie Smith who finished with 11 points, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds to ice the victory.

The Hawks finished the game shooting 34.7 percent from the field (17-of-49), while holding the Terriers to 24.6 percent (16-of-65) on their home floor. Hartford also won the battle of the boards by a 48-40 advantage, with Beverly's 16 leading all players. Diana Delva finished with six rebounds, while Doherty added six for Hartford. Beverly also finished the game with three assists and four blocks.

Hartford's defense was the problem right from the start as the Hawks opened the game on a 12-0 run, before allowing the first Terrier basket with 17:28 to play in the game, a three pointer from Caitlynn Moran.  

After allowing the Terriers to score eight-straight points, Hartford again clamped down on defense, holding Boston University without a bucket for another four minute span. That drought allowed the Hawks to score eight straight points and open their lead back to 12 (20-8).

The Hawks biggest lead of the half came in the final three minutes when Alex Hall hit a jump shot with 2:42 remaining to go ahead 34-16. That basket capped off a 7-0 run for Hartford. The Hawks were led by Beverly (8 points) at the break, while Kerry Cashman led the Terriers with 10 points.

Hartford came out of the break with a great offensive set, allowing Doherty to connect on a layup in the paint before a scoring drought of over nine minutes allowed the Terriers to rattle off 13 unanswered points and pull within four, 37-33.

Doherty wasn't going to let the Hawks lead go away, stopping the Terriers run with back-to-back jump shots from the elbow to put Hartford back ahead by eight 41-33 with just under 10 minutes to play in the game.

Despite scoring just 11 points in the final 10 minutes of the game, the Hawks defense took control and held the Terriers to just 11 points, with the home teams' last basket coming with 6:32 remaining in the game. The Terriers would see just four free throws in the final six minutes of the game. It was all defense down that final stretch, with the Hawks also hitting just one basket in the final five minutes, but a layup from Beverly with 1:45 remaining in the game gave Hartford a 50-43 lead, while the Terriers were unable to score more than a free throw in the final three minutes.

Hartford will return to its home floor for a Sunday afternoon game against the Albany Great Danes. Hartford and Albany will tip off at 2:00 p.m. in a game that can be seen on CTSN, the Connecticut Sports Network. Fans can also catch all the action live on the flagship station for Hartford women's basketball WWUH 91.3 FM.