BOX SCORE

Playa de Carmen, Mexico - The Hawks first half troubles once again plagued the team as they dropped their opening game of the 2010 Caribbean Challenge 78-44 to #23 Wisconsin-Green Bay on Thursday. The Hawks were led by junior Ilicia Mathis who finished with 15 points.

Mathis scored 12 of her 15 points at the free throw line with her only bucket a three pointer coming in the final two minutes of the game. Mathis finished the night 1-of-5 from the field and 12-of-14 at the line.  Keyokah Mars-Garrick finished second for the Hawks with nine points.

The first half struggles of turning the ball over and low shooting percentage were matched against Green Bay. The Hawks turned the ball over 19 times in the first 20 minutes, allowing Green Bay to score 24 points off of those mishandles. The Phoenix finished with 32 total points off of turnovers, while the Hawks matched just four of those.

The Hawks finished the first half shooting just 25 percent on 6-of-24, while making just one of their 11 total three point attempts. For the game, Hartford shot 26.5 percent on 13-of-49, while connecting on two total three pointers in 18 attempts for 11.1 percent.

The Phoenix led nearly all statistical categories, including a total of 20 steals against the Hawks. Green Bay outmatched the Hawks in the paint 46-14, while finishing with 16 fast break points, compared to none for Hartford, and finished with a 10-4 advantage in second chance points. The Hawks bench provided the only positive stat, outscoring the Phoenix 34-28.

Hartford will take on the Utah Utes in their second game of the tournament on Friday at 12:00 p.m. eastern standard time. Fans can catch all the action live on WWUH 91.3 FM, the flagship station for Hartford women's basketball, or on ESPN Radio 1410 AM. Fans can also join in the newest feature on HartfordHawks.com, live chat with members of the women's basketball program from courtside.