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West Hartford, Conn. – The Hartford women's basketball team led from start to finish in their second league victory of the season 64-52 over the Maine Black Bears on Thursday night at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. The Hawks improve to 11-9 overall, while Maine falls to 4-15 on the season and 1-5 in America East play.

Daphne Elliott and Nikkia Smith, a pair of juniors, led the Hawks each finishing with 15 points. The pair also put up impressive shooting performances with Elliott finishing 6-of-9 overall, 6-of-6 from inside the arc, and Smith 6-of-8 from the field, including a three pointer and a perfect 2-of-2 at the free throw line. Overall, the Hawks finished the game shooting 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the field. Also among the leading scorers for the Hawks were Ruthanne Doherty, Amber Bepko and Cherelle Moore who all finished with eight points.

Defensively, the Hawks held Maine to just five first half baskets, 5-of-21) and 23.8 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, en route to a 31-18 lead at the break. The Black Bears finished the game shooting 40 percent, rebounding in the second period to shoot 13-of-24 (54.2 percent). The Black Bears did win the battle of the boards with a 35-31 advantage, led by Danielle Walczak with 11 rebounds. Doherty led Hartford with nine rebounds. Samantha Baranowski led the visitors in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 7-of-8 at the free throw line.

The Hawks defense also forced Maine into 15 turnovers, converting those miscues into 19 points. Hartford finished the game with just seven turnovers; the lowest of the season and the second time in three games the Hawks have had eight or less turnovers. Maine would muster just six points off the Hawks miscues.

After winning the tip, the Black Bears managed two shots in their opening possession but came up short in both attempts as Smith would provide the first points of the game on the other end of the floor off a feed from Bepko with 1:04 having been played. Maine would answer back two possessions later with their first basket, a layup from Walczak, but that would prove to be the only tie of the game as the Hawks went on a 14-2 run opening up a 16-4 lead with 9:24 remaining in the game.

Following the second bucket from Maine, a lay in from Baranowski, with 15:19 remaining before the break, the Black Bears would go without a field goal for the next 11 minutes, scoring six points all at the free throw line in that stretch. A layup from Rebecca Knight with 4:16 remaining in the half would break up that drought.

Following back-to-back baskets for the Black bears, Knight's layup and a jumper from Baranowski, the Hawks opened up their largest lead of the half at 15 points, 29-14, on a layup from Moore with 1:20 remaining. Senior Keyokah Mars-Garrick would be the final bucket of the half for either team and her first points of the season after missing the first 12 games with an injury.

Maine would open the scoring in the second half, nearly two minutes into the action, on a layup from Baranowski, which Hartford answered with a 7-0 run to take a 38-20 lead with 16:01 remaining. Smith would cap off that run with her third three pointer of the season and her second since the start of league play.

After Maine rattled off five straight points to pull within 14 points, 44-30, with 10:44 remaining in the game, Hartford would answer with six unanswered to open their first 20 point lead and their largest lead of the game with 7:36 remaining, 52-30, on a pair of free throws from Moore.

Maine would battle the rest of the way, scoring the next eight points to pull back within 14 points, but the Hawks responded to that run with six straight again take a 20 point lead, 58-38, with 3:29 remaining. That lead came on a steal and fast break layup for Elliott.

The Black Bears would end the game on 14-6 run, including four points in the final 37 seconds of the game, back-to-back layups from Ashleigh Roberts, which provide the final outcome 64-52.

Hartford returns to the hardwood on Sunday when they travel to Boston for a 12:00 start against the currently undefeated and league leading Boston University Terriers. Boston University enters Sunday's game with a 6-0 league record after a 79-39 rout of New Hampshire at home on Thursday night.