BOX SCORE
POSTGAME QUOTES

Boston, Mass. – The University of Hartford women's basketball team punched its ticket to the 2011 NCAA women's basketball field of 64 winning its fifth America East Championship 65-53 over Boston University on Saturday night. Sophomore guard Alex Hall was named the America East Championship Most Outstanding Player after leading the Hawks with 15 points and holding the Terriers leading scorer, Chantell Alford, to 3-of-18 shooting.

The Hawks will await the NCAA committee's bracket announcement on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN. Fans wishing to watch the bracket announcement with the Hawks can join the Hartford players and coaches at The Hawks Nest. Follow HartfordHawks.com for additional information regarding Monday's bracket announcement.

The Hawks fifth championship came by way of 53 percent second half shooting (10-of-19) and an impressive defensive performance on the Terriers top two scorers who were held to 11 points total and 4-of-27 shooting, after averaging 28.5 points and shooting a combined 38 percent.

Hall's 15 points led four starters who finished in double figures with Jackie Smith adding 14 points, Ruthanne Doherty scoring 11 and Daphne Elliott chipping in with 10. Doherty finished with her sixth double double of the season, finishing the game with 10 rebounds. The double double against BU is the second of the America East Championship for the post, and her third in the last four games. Doherty and Elliott both joined Hall in earning spots on the All-Tournament team.

As a team, the Hawks finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (20-of-47) overall, while connecting on 6-of-15 from beyond the three point arc (40 percent) and making 19 of their 24 free throw attempts for 79.2 percent. The Terriers finished the game shooting 34.4 percent (22-of-64), but struggled from beyond the arc where they were 4-of-17 for 23.5 percent.

The Terriers came out of the game to take a 4-0 and 7-3 lead, the only one they would have for the game. Following the Hawks first bucket of the game, a three pointer from Smith (Jackie), and a 7-3 lead for the Terriers, the Hawks went on a 9-0 run which led to the first and last lead change of the game. After a Doherty jumper with 16:36 on the clock tied the game at seven, Elliott connected on her first of two three pointers on the night to give the Hawks their first lead 10-7.

The Terriers would manage a pair of ties over the final 13 minutes of the first half, with the final at 19 apiece. That tie came after back-to-back layups from Rashidat Agboola and Mo Moran who each came off the bench for Boston. Moran's layup with 7:20 remaining in the half tied the score for the third time in the game and came on a fast break as she tipped a Hawks pass.

The Hawks answered with six straight and eight of the final 10 points in the half to take a 27-21 lead into the locker room at the break. The final eight points of the half all came from different players with Nikkia Smithproviding the final tally of the stanza and the six-point Hartford lead at the break.

Coming out of the break, Hall stepped up big after finishing the first half with just two points. She would score four straight, the last three coming on a three pointer that gave the Hawks a nine point lead just over three minutes into the action. Hall would end up scoring eight points in the first 6:30 of the half to help keep the lead in favor of the visiting team.

After a three pointer from Smith (Jackie) gave the Hawks  seven point advantage with 12:16 remaining in regulation, the Terriers made it known they weren't going to lay down, they went on to score the next seven points and tie the score at 40, the fourth and final tie in the game. The Terriers 7-0 run spanned just 2:02 of the clock and was capped off by a three pointer from Kat Briggs, one of three seniors on the Terriers squad.

Senior Amanda Weaver came off the bench to break up the Terriers run with a crucial three pointer, the first of five-straight points for Hartford to regain the lead, one they would let the Terriers touch for the remainder of the game.

After a three pointer from Moran cut the Hawks lead down to one possession with 7:08 on the clock, the Hawks rattled off six-straight points, the first of which came on the second three pointer from Elliott. Hall would provide the final three, which gave the Hawks an eight points advantage with 5:42 remaining.

The Hawks defense dug deep and held the Terriers to just eight more points in the game. In the meantime, the Hawks free throw shooting secured the victory as 10 of the final 12 points of the game for Hartford came at the line. With the Terriers poised to make a late run following a layup from Kerry Cashman that pulled the home squad within six, Hartford answered with a crucial put back and one from Doherty that pretty much sealed the deal for Hartford.

The Hawks will be making their sixth overall trip to the Big Dance with five conference championships and an at-large selection in 2010 after the Hawks dropped the championship game to the Vermont Catamounts. The Hawks hold a 2-5 overall record in NCAA Tournament play.

Four of Hartford's five, the last four, America East championships have come with victories over Boston University. Overall, the Hawks are 4-0 against Boston University when the two squads have met to decide the title. This win is also the first conference championship the Hawks have won away from the Chase Family Arena as this is just the second year the America East title game has been decided on the home court of the highest remaining seed.