BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
West Hartford, CT – The top seeded University of Hartford women's basketball team (21 ESPN/USA Today / 23 AP) coasted through its America East quarterfinal matchup with a 68-35 win over the #9 New Hampshire Wildcats on Friday evening. The Hawks were led by the America East Player of the Year, Diana Delva, who finished with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds.
Hartford's (26-3 overall) 33 point margin of victory is the largest since 1997 in an America East championship game. The Maine Black Bears posted back-to-back 42 point victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals in 1997, before winning its third-straight America East Championship. The victory also extends the Hawks current win streak to 19 straight games.
Delva finished the game shooting 7-of-9 from the field, while classmate and America East Defensive Player of the Year Erica Beverly finished the game 6-of-8 from the field for 16 points to round out the Hawks leading scorers. The two also combined to go 8-of-9 at the free throw line, with Beverly making all four of her attempts.
The Hawks finished the game shooting 46.4 percent from the field (26-of-56), with a pair of those field goals three pointers, while at the line the Hawks were 14-of-18. Defensively, Hartford held the Wildcats to 27.3 percent shooting for the game (15-of-55) and held them without a three point basket until the 6:00 minute mark of the second half. Hartford also forced 16 turnovers and converted those New Hampshire miscues into 21 points, while the Wildcats could must only two points off of the Hawks 12 turnovers.
The Hawks held the statistical advantage in every category, leading the battle of the boards 45-29 and outscoring New Hampshire 40-14 in the paint. Hartford also held a 19-4 lead in second chance points and finished with six points on fast breaks, while New Hampshire had none. Hartford's bench also excelled finishing with 24 points, while the Wildcats bench accounted for just nine points.
Hartford, who never trailed in the game, jumped out to a 13-3 lead with 11:16 to play as freshman Alex Hall connected on a layup off a Wildcat turnover. The Hawks then used runs of six-straight and eight-straight to take a 27-11 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the first half.
The host Hawks took a 32-17 advantage into the break, led by Beverly who finished with 10 points missing just one of her six field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes. Beverly also added three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in the first half.
The Wildcats were held with a bucket for almost two minutes to start the second half, while Hartford extended its lead to 40-17 in that stretch. The final four points of that second half opening run came on four straight free throws from Beverly.
Defensively, the Hawks again held the Wildcats without a bucket for a significant stretch, this time almost six minutes. During that stretch, Hartford opened its lead to more than 30 points. The largest lead of the game for Hartford was 37, which came on a Keyokah Mars-Garrick jumper with 6:21 to play in the game. Mars-Garrick's bucket was made possible by a pass from freshman Ruthanne Doherty.
The Hawks advance into the semifinal round to take on the #4 Stony Brook Seawolves in a semifinal game that is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. tip on Sunday.
