Doherty’s Double Double Leads Hawks into Semifinals with 48-43 Win over Albany

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POSTGAME QUOTES

West Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore Ruthanne Doherty scored a double double, while teammate Daphne Elliott sank a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to secure a 48-43 victory over the Albany Great Danes in the quarterfinals of the 2011 America East Women's Basketball Championship presented by Newman's Own. Doherty finished the game with 11 points and 12 boards for her team leading fifth double double of the season.

The victory advances the Hawks into the semifinal round where they will face the top seeded UMBC Retrievers at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. UMBC scored a pair of victories over Hartford in the regular season. For tickets or more information contact the Malcolm & Brenda Berman Athletics Ticket Office at 860-768-4295 or tickets@hartford.edu.

The Hawks win also knocks Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti into the all-time winningest coach position with 19 victories in America East Championship play. Rizzotti's 19th win in postseason league action allowed her to pass former Maine coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie and fomer Northeastern coach Joy Malchodi for the top honors.

Elliott also finished with double figures in the scoring column as she tied Doherty to lead the way with 11 points. Overall, the Hawks finished the game shooting 39 percent (16-of-41), while holding the Great Danes to just 28.6 percent (18-of-63). Leading all players in the game was the Great Danes Cassandra Callaway with 17 points.

In a purely defensive battle, the Great Danes won the battle of the boards with a 47-29 advantage but were unable to capitalize on their 23-7 advantage on the offensive glass scoring just eight points. Before a winner could be determined there was a total of nine lead changes and two ties. The teams combined for 37 turnovers and a total of 34 fouls were called.

Following Elliott and Doherty in leading the team was Nikkia Smith and Mary Silvia who each finished with six points, while Jackie Smith and Alex Hall each contributed five. The only other players to get on the board in the game were rookies Taylor Clark and Alyssa Englert who each finished with two points. To go along with Elliott's 11 points, the sophomore contributed a game-high three steals and dished out a pair of assists. Smith (Jackie) led the Hawks with four assists.

The Great Danes came out of the gates to score the first four points of the game on two baskets from Felicia Johnson. Hartford answered by scoring the next eight points for the first lead change. The first six points for Hartford came on three pointers, one each from Smith (Jackie) and Elliott.

Following a 12-6 lead, with 10 minutes remaining before the break, the Hawks would go scoreless for the next 5:47 allowing the Great Danes to take their second lead of the game 13-12 with 5:54 remaining in the half. Hall would end the Hawks drought by scoring on a jumper, which turned out to be the first of six the Hawks would score before the break. Those final six points, compared to just two in the same time frame for the Great Danes gave the Hawks an 18-15 edge going into the locker room.

Albany came out of the halftime to begin the second period the same way they started the game scoring the first four points and taking a one-point edge 20-19 with 16:45 remaining. The Hawks responded by scoring the next five points over 1:15 to regain a four point lead 24-19.

The score would seesaw back and forth for the next five minutes before a pair of free throws from Smith (Nikkia) gave the Hawks a one-point edge with 10:50 remaining. That lead change would prove to be the last of the game.

Following that lead change, the Hawks held the Great Danes to just one bucket over the next 5:20, while building up an eight point lead, the largest of the game. That lead came off an unassisted jumper from Doherty with 6:38 remaining.

The Great Danes bounced back to score seven unanswered points over the next three minutes to pull within one point, 40-39, with just under four minutes remaining in the game. Hartford answered the spurt by scoring four straight to regain a five point cushion with 2:11 remaining.

The Great Danes would match those points to again pull within a point, 44-43, with 48 seconds remaining. Coming off a layup from Calloway, Smith (Jackie) calmly sank a pair of free throws, while the other Smith (Nikkia) drew an offensive foul on the Great Danes with 17 seconds remaining in the game. Elliott came off that foul and sank two more free throws, which gave Hartford its final margin as a pair of three point attempts in the final eight seconds were off the mark for Albany.

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