HANOVER, N.H. – The Hartford women's basketball team scored its seventh victory of the year on Sunday afternoon defeating the Dartmouth Big Green 67-52 on the road. Leading the Hawks (7-2 overall) was the duo of Amber Bepko and Alex Hall who each finished with 13 points, while Ruthanne Doherty chipped in a dozen.

Overall, Hartford finished the contest shooting 55.6 percent (30-of-54) its highest shooting average since February 7, 2009 when they connected on 30-of-60 at home against Maine. The Hawks shooting was balanced throughout the afternoon, connecting on 54.8 percent (17-31) in the opening half and 56.5 percent (13-23) in the final 20 minutes.

Also among the scoring leaders was Katie Roth who finished with seven points and Daphne Elliott, Christie Michals and Nikkia Smith who all dialed up six points. Dartmouth did win the battle of the boards with a 33-31 edge, while the Hawks forced the Big Green into 20 turnovers, their sixth opponent of the year forced into 20 or more miscues. Offensively, the Hawks turned those 20 Big Green turnovers into 28 points.

Roth and Bepko led Hartford's rebounding efforts, each finishing with seven rebounds. The Hawks also combined for 16 assists as a team, led by three from Bepko, who also led the squad with five steals a season high for the sophomore guard.

The teams opened up the contest going back and forth through the first 11 minutes before a 7-0 run for Hawks opened up a 25-19 advantage with 6:52 remaining before the intermission. During those early minutes the Hawks saw an early stretch of eight of 10 points that gave them an initial 8-4 advantage.

Dartmouth responded to that deficit by scoring seven of the next nine points for the second lead change of the afternoon provided an 11-10 Big Green edge. The final basket in that stretch for the Big Green was a three pointer from Faziah Steen as time expired on the shot clock.

The Hawks would go on to score the next five points as Roth connected on an old fashioned three point play and Smith drained a jumper that provided Hartford with a 15-11 advantage with 12:52 remaining. Dartmouth would then score eight of the next 11 points with Hartford's only basket in that span a three pointer from Michals. That run for the Big Green provided a 19-18 lead, their final of the contest.

Hartford scored the next seven points, capped off by five-straight from Hall who closed out the run with a triple that provided a 25-19 Hawks lead with 6:52 remaining before the break. After Dartmouth scored the next four points to pull within two, Hartford closed out the opening stanza with 15 straight points, taking a 40-23 cushion into the locker room. Included in that run were back-to-back long range buckets from Bepko, while four other players provided the balance of the scoring.

Following the intermission, the Hawks opened their lead to 23, scoring eight of the first 10 points, the final four of which came on layups from Elliott. That lone basket for the Big Green, a layup from Tia Dawson, was their only bucket in more than a 10:30 stretch that spanned the halftime break.

With the Hawks lead at its largest of the game, 48-25, the Big Green used a stretch of 19-4 that pulled the Hawks lead into single digits with 11:56 remaining, 52-43. The Big Green's leading scorer Steen, who finished with 14 points, contributed nine in that rally.

The final basket of that run, a three pointer from Nicole Zimmer would be the last for the Big Green for the next six minutes as Hartford was able to regain a 60-43 advantage with 6:27 remaining in the contest. That lone basket, a layup from Steen, broke up a pair of Hawks runs that equaled a 15-2 stretch and lead to a 67-55 lead with 2:18 left.

The Big Green would go on to score the final seven points of the contest but it wouldn't be enough as Hartford took the victory 67-52 improving to 7-2 overall.

Hartford will return to the Nutmeg State for its next two games both coming before the holiday break. The Hawks begin that stretch on Sunday, December 16 when they welcome the undefeated Quinnipiac Bobcats to the Chase Family Arena for a 2:00 p.m. tip. Hartford will then welcome the #2 UConn Huskies into the Reich Family Pavilion on Saturday, December 22 at 1:00 p.m.