BOX SCORE
Burlington, Vt. – The Hartford women's basketball team scored its fourth straight win with a 63-52 road decision over the Vermont Catamounts on Sunday afternoon at Patrick Gymnasium. The Hawks were led by 18 points from junior Nikkia Smith, while rookie Amber Bepko grabbed eight steals for the second straight game tying the school record for steals in a single game.
Smith's 18 points led three players in double figures, all three of which came from the starting five. Joining Smith was fellow classmates Daphne Elliott with 15 and Ruthanne Doherty with 12 points. Doherty's 12 points is the fourth straight game she has finished with double figures in the scoring column. Overall, the Hawks shot 37.3 percent from the field on 19-of-51, while hitting a pair of free throws, and finishing 23-of-28 at the free throw line (82.1 percent).
Defensively, the Hawks forced Vermont into 30 turnovers, a team high for a Hawks opponent. The Hawks turned those 30 miscues into 22 points. The Hawks also finished with a season-high 20 steals behind Bepko's eight thefts and five from Elliott.
Vermont finished with two players scoring double doubles, led by Niki Taylor who finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Shanai Heber added 12 points and 10 boards. Tierra Shumpert also added 13 points for the home team. As a team, the Catamounts led the battle of the boards with a commanding 41-24 advantage, with Doherty leading the Hawks efforts with seven rebounds. Vermont finished the game shooting 38.8 percent overall on 19-of-49 from the field.
Vermont would put the first points on the board when sophomore Sam Simononis scored a pair on a layup, her only bucket of the game in 22 minutes. The Hawks followed that up with back-to-back buckets from Smith, opening her team leading performance. Vermont would take the lead back moments later on the first three pointer of the afternoon from Kayla Burchill.
The Hawks would then provide the next and final lead change 27 seconds later steal and layup from Bepko. Free throws from Doherty and Milana Gilbert extended the Hawks lead to four with 14:20 remaining, and Hartford never looked back.
Hartford took its first double digit lead in the contest with 8:52 remaining in the first half when Elliott capped off a 6-0 run with a layup off an assist from Bepko. Vermont would use a mini run of four straight to pull as close as they would get the remainder of the half at 24-18 with just under five minutes remaining before the break. That six point advantage would be the same at the break after Shumpert provided the final basket of the half on a jump shot with 17 seconds remaining.
Coming out of the break, the Hawks provided the first five points to quickly regain a double figure lead. The 11 points, 35-24, advantage came by way of a three pointer from Alex Hall and a jumper from Bepko with 19:18 remaining in the game. After trading points for the next three minutes the Catamounts would muster back-to-back baskets and pull within seven points with 15:39 remaining, the second basket of which came from Taylor.
The Hawks would extend their lead back into double figures six more times before the Catamounts managed their smallest deficit of the half with 8:10 remaining following five straight points, a three from Burchill and a layup from Heber, which made the score 49-43.
Less than three minutes later the Hawks would manage their largest lead of the game at 13 following a 6-0 run that include a pair of free throws from Alyssa Englert and a layup and two free throws from Doherty. The Hawks lead of 57-44, came with 5:13 remaining in regulation. The Catamounts would answer that lead with a run of their own, a 5-0 scamper that cut the Hawks lead back into single digits at 57-49 with 3:38 remaining.
The Hawks would again extend their lead to 13, icing the victory with four straight free throws, two each from Elliott and Bepko. Vermont would manage the final bucket of the contest as Heber hit a jumper at the buzzer providing the afternoon's final margin of 53-42.
The Hawks will next play on Saturday, February 11 after their second bye week of the conference season. Hartford welcomes Binghamton to the Chase Family Arena for their next game. The Hawks and Bearcats are scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. game as Hartford celebrates National Girls and Women in Sports Day with a pre-game clinic at 12:00 p.m. at the Sports Center.
