BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
West Hartford, Conn. – The Hartford women's basketball team dropped its America East opener to the Albany Great Danes 40-37 in what was also the first home loss of the season. The Hawks were led by freshman Shanise Bultron who came off the bench to finish with 10 points, the only player in the game to hit double figures. Hartford is now 9-6 on the season and 0-1 in league play.
Bultron's 10 points led six different players who got in on the scoring for the Hawks. Junior Daphne Elliott finished with nine points while post players Nikkia Smith and Ruthanne Doherty finished with eight and seven points, respectively. Adrienne Jones led the Great Danes with nine points, one of seven different players to score for Albany.
Neither team shot well for the game with the Great Danes leading the two teams with a 16-of-50 effort (32 percent), while Hartford finished with a 25 percent shooting effort on 11-of-44. Six of the Hawks 11 baskets came from beyond the arc, while they were also 9-of-17 at the free throw line. Albany finished with three three pointers, in 16 attempts, while going 5-of-13 at the free throw line.
The Great Dane also won the battle of the boards with a five rebound advantage 39-34. Julie Forster led all players in the game with 14 rebounds, while Milana Gilbert led the Hawks with 10 rebounds, a career-high for the sophomore. Albany finished the contest with 18 offensive rebounds converting those boards into 19 second chance points, while Hartford mustered just four second chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.
Hartford trailed for all but 28 seconds in the game after the Great Danes opened up an early 11-0 lead as the Hawks missed the first 13 shots they took on their home floor. Forster would provide the first points of the game on a layup two minutes into the action, while Hartford wouldn't see its first points until more than nine minutes were off the clock and that came in the fashion of a three pointer from Bultron.
Albany would quickly extend that lead back to 11 by answering Bultron's three with one of their own from Ebone Henry almost a minute later. Following that lead, the Hawks would manage seven straight points to pull within four 10-14 with 3:46 remaining in the half. Six of the seven points came on three pointers, a second one from Bultron and one from Smith.
Albany answered the Hartford run with five-straight points of its own, capped off by a three pointer from Lindsey Lowrie as time expired on the shot clock. Hartford would respond with a three pointer from Doherty to end the half down four 19-15. Hartford finished that half shooting just 5-of-20 for 20 percent.
Coming out of the intermission, the Hawks would quickly cut the lead down to two on a Smith jumper off the opening possession 11 seconds into the action. Following a pair of offensive rebounds, the Great Danes answered with a jumper from Jones with 18:52 remaining in the game.
After trading buckets for the next eight-plus minutes, Hartford managed to cut the lead to two again, this time on a third three pointer from Bultron with 10:28 remaining. A layup from Gilbert after an Albany free throw cut the Great Danes lead to one, and the Hawks were then able to take their only lead of the game, a one point advantage with 6:41 remaining in the game on a three pointer from Elliott.
Albany wasn't going to let the lead last as they answered with a jumper from Lindsey Lowrie with 6:13 remaining in the game and then used a Hawks turnover to extend the lead back to three less than a minute later on a layup from Forster. Two free throws, one each of Doherty and Smith, pulled the Hawks back within a point with 4:15 remaining, but Albany connected again, this time on a layup from Megan Craig 10 seconds later.
Craig would provide the next points, this time after allowing three minutes to tick by with neither team able to connect despite six field goal attempts and two free throw attempts between the two squads. Craig's basket with 1:15 remaining gave Albany a five point lead, while the Hawks were able to pull it back within a point with 42 seconds remaining using a layup from Elliott and a pair of free throws.
Albany answered 17 seconds later with a pair of free throws from Jones despite numerous steal attempts for the Hawks as the Great Danes struggled to get the ball over the timeline. After a free throw from Bultron and one from Jones, the Hawks were unable to get a shot off in the final 4.9 seconds succumbing to the visiting Great Danes 40-37.
Hartford will continue its opening week of conference play with a Thursday night match-up at New Hampshire. The Hawks and Wildcats are scheduled to tip off at 7:00 p.m. at Lundholm Gymnasium.
