BOX SCORE
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WEST HARTFORD, CONN. – Binghamton University quelled a hot Hartford start midway through the first half and seemed to control the game from that point forward on its way to a 69-57 America East victory at the Chase Family Arena on Monday night. Sophomore Alex Hall closed out the contest with a game-high 21 points, also a career high for the guard. The Hawks fall to 6-12 overall and 3-2 in conference play, while Binghamton improves to 11-7 on the season and 4-1 in league action.
Hall finished the game shooting 50 percent overall with an 8-of-16 tally, while missing one of her six free throw attempts. She also added three rebounds, two assists and a steal she earned Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the game honors for the home team. Hall led two other players in double figures as Ruthanne Doherty and Mary Silvia each added 11 points.
Overall, the Hawks finished the game shooting 38.3 percent (23-of-60), helped mostly by the first half where the Hawks finished the period shooting 51.6 percent on 16-of-31. Leading all shooters for Hartford was Doherty who was 5-of-8 overall. The Hawks also lost the battle of the boards as Binghamton finished with a 39-30 advantage in that column. Leading the Hawks on the boards was Jackie Smith and Daphne Elliott who each finished with four.
The Bearcats finished the game shooting 49.2 percent overall (29-of-59), not shooting under 48 percent in either half. Leading the visitors was Kara Elofson who finished with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Andrea Holmes and Viive Rebane each added 18 for the Bearcats. Rebane also show well, going 8-of-11 from the field. The trio also led the team and all players with nine rebounds each.
The Hawks came out of the gates in a hurry, opening up a double digit lead with less than seven minutes played. That first extended lead for the Hawks came on a jumper from Hall with 13:09 to play. The lead came by way of an 8-0 run after allowing the Bearcats to score the first bucket and a 6-0 run, which culminated in Hall's jumper.
The hometown crowd saw that lead extended to as much as 13 with 10:31 to play, again by way of a jump shot from Hall. Elliott also added a three in what amounted to be five straight points for the Hawks. Hartford would then see its lead begin to evaporate slowly to as little as one with 2:50 remaining. Binghamton used their first run of the game, a 7-0 run, to pull within that margin, before extending that run to nine points taking their first lead since the opening minutes.
Hartford answered by scoring the final points of the half, again coming from Hall. She finished the half with 13 points to lead all players, while she missed only one of her six first half attempts and was a perfect 3-of-3 at the line.
The Bearcats came out of the locker room with the same intensity the Hawks had at the start of the game and quickly saw their lead grow into double figures with 12:57 remaining. Their first double digit lead cam off a layup from Rebane. The Hawks would try chipping into that lead multiple times over the next eight minutes getting as close as three with 5:07 remaining. That deficit came by way of an old fashioned three point play from Hall who connected on a layup and made the free throw count.
The visiting team wasn't going to let up and extended their lead back out of reach and into double figures with 1:01 remaining when rookie Jasbriell Swain sunk a pair of free throws. None of the Hawls late shots would fall as they were 0-for-8 in the final four minutes with their only points from that point on a pair of free throws from Silvia.
The Hawks will play their second game of three total this week, and the first of two straight on the road, at UMBC on Thursday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. Fans can catch all the action from their offices live on the flagship station for University of Hartford women's basketball WWUH 91.3 FM.
