BOX SCORE
West Hartford, Conn. – The Hartford women's basketball team started slow but ended hot with a 64-45 win over Manhattan in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT on Friday night at The Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. The Hawks advance to the Elite Eight and will host the Long Island Blackbirds on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
Junior post Ruthanne Doherty led the Hawks and all players as the only competitor in double figures with 19 points. The junior opened up her night with a 7-of-7 effort before missing her final attempt of the game. She would also go 5-of-7 at the free throw line, while adding a pair of rebounds and assists.
Following Doherty in the scoring column was fellow classmate Daphne Elliott along with sophomore Taylor Clark and freshman Amber Bepko who all finished with nine points. Elliott finished the game 4-of-8 from the field while adding five assists, three steals and a pair of blocks. Clark's nine points ties her career high, while she also missed just one shot from the floor going 4-of-5 overall. Bepko closed out her first collegiate game with a 2-of-7 effort from the field, but was a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line. The rookie also added a game-high six assists and grabbed a pair of steals.
Overall, the Hawks shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field, including a game-high 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the second half. Hartford also finished with a combined 21 steals led by Bepko's six, Elliott's five and Alyssa Englert who finished with four. The Hawks defense held Manhattan to 31.6 percent (18-of-57) from the floor, including just 23.1 percent in the opening half (6-of-26). Three players would lead the Jaspers individual scoring efforts with Toni-Ann Lawrence, Monica Roeder and Lindsey Loutsenhizer all finishing with nine points.
The Hawks would also win the battle of the boards with a 42-30 advantage on the glass. Junior Nikkia Smith led all players in the game with nine rebounds, while Elliott finished second for the Hawks with five and Englert right on her heels with four. The Hawks struggled, especially in the early minutes, to control the ball, finishing with 22 turnovers, 14 of which came in the first half. Defensively, the Hawks forced Manhattan into 18 turnovers, while grabbing 12 steals.
Neither team could find an early rhythm coming out of the gates for the 2011-12 season, keeping the scoring to a minimum for the first 10 minutes of the game, when the Hawks broke into double digits at 11-8 on a jumper from Bepko off a feed from Doherty. It would take more than five minutes before the Hawks would be able to open up the first double digit lead of the game, which came on an old fashioned three point play from Doherty with 4:45 remaining in the half.
Manhattan would cut into the double figure lead with a jumper from Roeder with 2:28 to play, but the Hawks would get a layup from Clark and a free throw from Doherty before the end of the half to take a 24-12 lead into the locker room at the break.
Coming out of the intermission, the Hawks would open their lead to as much as 16 on two occasions, the first on a long range bucket from Bepko, one of three total three pointers for the home squad. Smith would provide the second 16 point margin on a pair of free throws with 16:47 to play in the game.
The Jaspers would manage a 7-0 run that spanned just under three minutes and allowed them to pull within single digits with 13:47 remaining. Roeder would close out the run with a three pointer off an assist from Loutsenhizer. Following a layup from Loutsenhizer with 12:34 to play, the Hawks would begin to pull away, extending their lead to as much as 18 over the next five minutes. That lead came with 7:17 remaining in the game as Doherty connected on a pair of free throw attempts.
Manhattan would again use a 7-0 run to pull as close as they would get for the remainder of the game at 11. Maggie Blair would provide the final basket in this run from beyond the three point arc. Hartford would go on to extend the game out of reach and to as much as 19, the largest lead of the game, which came on the final points, a pair of free throws from Bepko with 33 seconds remaining.
Prior to the game, the Hawks unveiled the seventh banner to hang from the rafters of The Chase Family Arena this one honoring the 2011 America East Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. The three members of the 2011 senior class Jackie Smith, Mary Silvia and Amanda Weaver joined University President Walter Harrison and America East Conference Associate Commissioner Shonna Brown to reveal the new banner. (Photo Credit: David Newman)
