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West Hartford, Conn. – The University of Hartford women's basketball returned to its winning ways with a 67-57 home win over the Stony Brook Seawolves on a snowy Wednesday night at the Chase Family Pavilion. Sophomore Ruthanne Doherty led all players in the game as she compiled a career-high 23 points, just the second time this season a Hawk has scored 20 or more points. Hartford improves to 7-14 overall, while returning to .500 in conference play at 4-4.
Doherty's 23 points came courtesy of 8-of-15 from the field, and 7-of-9 at the free throw line. Overall, the Hawks finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor (25-of-50), with two other players joining Doherty in double figures, senior Mary Silvia with 19 points and sophomore Nikkia Smith with 10 points. Silvia, who was named the Nestle Purina ONE America East Player of the Game, also had an impressive night from the field, finishing 7-of-13 overall, while going 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Silvia's 19 points was one shy of tying her career-high, while the five three pointers ties the season high for all players, while it is also one shy of her career high for three pointers made, which would have also tied a school record for three pointers in a game.
Smith rounded out the leading scorers with her 10 point performance in her first game back after missing three games due to an injury suffered prior to the January 17 Binghamton game. Smith finished the game shooting 5-of-8 from the field.
Senior Jackie Smith led the Hawks to a total of 19 team assists, while sporting a career-high nine for the Westfield, Mass. native. She also finished the game with a block and a steal to add to two points. Freshman Alyssa Englert also came off the bench with a spark, finishing the game with a career-high seven points on 2-od-3 shooting and 3-of-4 at the free throw line.
The Hawks held the Seawolves (4-16 overall, 1-7 America East) to 30 percent shooting (19-of-63), while also holding them to just 18 first half points, when the Seawolves shot just 26 percent (7-of-27) in the half. Whitney Davis led the visiting team on the night with 13 points. The Seawolves did win the battle of the boards by a 39-36 advantage, thanks in large part to a 20-8 margin on the offensive glass. However, the Seawolves managed just 11 second chance points, while the Hawks poured in 12. Doherty and Silvia led the Hawks rebounding efforts with six boards a piece.
Both teams came out of the gates rather sluggish, with neither able to find an offensive rhythm. The Seawolves scored the first four points of the game before Daphne Elliott was able to put the Hawks on the board with a floater as she drove into the lane with nearly four minutes off the clock. Following a three pointer from the Seawolves leading scorer Kirsten Jeter, who was held to 12 points, the Hawks rattled off nine-straight points to take a 13-7 lead, one they would not relinquish the remainder of the game. Doherty would cap off that run with an old fashioned three point play after scoring on a layup with an assist from Jackie Smith.
The Seawolves would cut the lead to as little as three points, courtesy of a three pointer from Amanda Corona, with 4:50 remaining in the first half. The Hawks answered that with two of their own, both from Silvia, to pull back ahead by nine points with 2:18 remaining before the break.
Sam Landers would provide the final bucket of the first half with a minute to play when scored on a jumper after forcing a Hawks turnover just second earlier. The Hawks would miss their final two shot attempts of the half, which led to a 23-18 advantage at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, the Seawolves converted an old fashioned three point play to cut the Hawks lead to two. They would manage to get as close as two points on one more occasion as Corona converted a four point play when she was fouled on a made three pointer with 14:38 remaining.
The Hawks would answer that four point play by extending their lead into double figures with a 16-4 run over four minutes to take a 14 points lead with 10:06 remaining. That run saw eight points come from Doherty, while the final three points of the run came on a three pointer from Silvia, her fifth of the game.
The Hawks would see their largest lead coming with just over five minutes remaining in regulation when another three point play for Doherty extended the Hawks lead to 18 points. Stony Brook would manage to get its deficit into single digits three times within the final two minutes of the game, but the Hawks answered with a bucket or free throws each time to keep the game just out of reach.
The Hawks will return to action one week from today when they host the Vermont Catamounts for the first game in the second run through the conference schedule. The Hawks and Catamounts are set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. live on CTSN, the Connecticut Sports Network. Join the Hawks for Family Fun Night when you can get four lower level tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and four bags of chips for just $40.
