PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford women's basketball team dropped its first game of the season on Sunday night falling 66-54 to #18/16 St. John's. Senior Nikkia Smith led three Hartford (5-1) players in double figures as she finished with 16 points.

Smith's 16 points is the fifth time in the first six games the Montville, Conn. native has finished in double figures. Joining her in double figures was fellow classmate Ruthanne Doherty and sophomore Amber Bepko who each finished with 11 points. As a team, Hartford shot 32.3 percent overall (20-of-62), while the Red Storm (4-1) finished the afternoon contest shooting 50 percent on 25-of-50.

St. John's also won the battle of the boards by a final margin of 39-33 with the Hawks led by freshman Katie Roth who finished with seven. Smith finished just behind her with six. Shenneika Smith led all players in the game with 21 points and 11rebounds for the Red Storm.

(Shenneika) Smith opened up the game scoring the first two points on a jump shot just 15 seconds into the action. The Red Storm would go on to open up an 8-2 advantage before the Hawks began a three minute stretch of holding St. John's without a point. In that span, the Hawks were able to cut that lead to four on a layup from Bebko.

After St. John's opened its lead up to seven, the largest of the first half, on a layup and free throw from Eugenia McPherson, Hartford when on a 6-2 run that pulled the Hawks within three, 13-10 with 10:35 remaining before the break. The Red Storm responded by scoring the next two buckets on a layup from Keylantra Langley and a jumper from Nadirah McKenith to regain a 17-10 lead.

This time the Hawks responded with a 9-0 run that provided the home team's first lead of the afternoon thanks to a layup from Doherty with 4:24 remaining before intermission. (Shenneika) Smith broke up that Hartford momentum with a three pointer, the first of the game for the Red Storm and the first of six straight points that led to a 23-19 advantage with 2:15 remaining.

The teams would then trade the next three points before a layup from (Nikkia) Smith with 17 seconds remaining before the half and a great defensive stop led to the Red Strom taking a two-point advantage, 26-24, into the locker room. Doherty and (Nikkia) Smith led the Hawks in the first half with eight points each, while the Hawks outside play struggled, connecting on 1-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc. That would change in the second half as Hartford finished 3-of-7 from long range in the final 20 minutes.

Coming out of the break, the Red Storm would score six of the first eight points to regain a six-point advantage on a layup from McKenith less than two minutes in. Hartford responded to that by scoring 10 straight to take their second lead of the afternoon, 36-32 with 15:03 remaining. Daphne Elliott began that run for the Hawks with a layup and a three pointer, while a layup from (Nikkia) Smith closed out the run.

The Red Storm turned that deficit around quickly using a 14-2 run over the next seven minutes to gain a 46-38 advantage with 8:23 remaining. The lone two points for Hartford during that span came on a pair of free throws from (Nikkia) Smith, while her namesake for the Red Storm scored eight points in the run.

Bepko would break up the St. John's momentum with her first three pointer of the afternoon with 7:44 remaining, cutting the Red Storm advantage to five, 46-41. The Red Storm responded to that basket with back-to-back layups from McKenith and Amber Thompson to take a nine point lead.

Hartford would then use back-to-back baskets, a three from Bepko and a layup from Doherty, to pull within four with 5:14 remaining. That was the closest Hartford would get the rest of the way as the Red Storm matched those two baskets in the same order and used 5-of-6 at the line for McKenith down the stretch to secure their fourth victory of the season.

Hartford will return to the hardwood in six days when it welcome the second-straight opponent from the Big East Providence to West Hartford on Saturday, October 1. The game will be part of a day-night double header with the men's team hosting Holy Cross at 7:00 p.m. that night. The Hawks and Friars are scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion.