PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford women's basketball team used a 21-4 second half run to pull away from the Stony Brook Seawolves earning their second league victory of the season 59-43 on Saturday at the Reich Family Pavilion. Hartford (11-6 overall, 2-2 America East) was led by senior Daphne Elliott who finished with a season-high 19 points.

Elliott was one of three players in double figures joined by classmate Nikkia Smith who had 10 points and junior Alyssa Englert who finished with a career-high 11 points, her first collegiate game in double figures. Elliott and Englert combined to scored seven three pointers, while as a team Hartford finished with a season-best nine.

Overall, Hartford finished the afternoon shooting 41.2 percent on 21-of-51, including 9-of-19 from beyond the arc (47.4 percent). The Hawks also made eight of their 12 free throw attempts. The Seawolves (10-7 overall, 2-2 America East) did win the battle of the boards by a 33-32 margin with Jessica Previlon leading all players with eight boards. Smith led Hartford with six.

Defensively, Hartford held the Seawolves to 34.9 percent shooting (15-of-43) while forcing the visitors into 21 turnovers, committing just 12 of their own. Sabre Proctor came off the bench to lead Stony Brook with 13 points. For the second game in a row, the Hawks capitalized on finding the open player, combining for 14 assists, led by four each from Englert and Shanise Bultron.

After a scoreless first two minutes, the Hawks broke the stalemate and scored the first six points to take an early 6-0 lead. That advantage would last long as the Seawolves responded by scoring the next eight for the first of 14 lead changes in the game.

Elliott would break up that 8-0 run for Stony Brook with her second three pointer of the afternoon, giving Hartford a 9-8 advantage with 12:10 remaining in the half. The teams would find themselves tied three times over the next five minutes before a pair of lead changes culminated in an 18-14 lead, the largest of the half, for Hartford, made possible by the first of three long range baskets from Englert with 4:19 remaining.

Following Englert's basket, the Seawolves used two straight three pointers, sandwiching a free throw for Hartford, from Teasha Harris to take a 20-19 lead with 2:23 remaining. Elliott responded to those three's with one of her own, regaining a two point advantage for Hartford 22-20.

Stony Brook then scored four straight, the final two on a pair of free throws with 42 seconds before the break from Sabre Proctor. Hartford would manage the final bucket of the half with 18 seconds remaining, a jumper from Smith, leading to a stalemate at the break 24-24. At the intermission, Harris an Elliott led their respective squads with 11 points each.

Coming out of the locker room the Hawks and Seawolves traded baskets and leads for the first six minutes before Hartford began a 21-4 run that opened the game in its favor. Following a three pointer from Englert with 15:23 remaining that provided a 30-28 Hartford led, the Seawolves used five straight to take their final lead of the afternoon at 33-30 with 13:53 on the clock.

Following those five, all of which came from Proctor, Hartford rattled off 10 unanswered, the first four of which came from Ruthanne Doherty and the final six of which came on three pointers from Englert and Bultron. That run gave Hartford a 40-33 advantage and forced a Stony Brook timeout.

The Seawolves came out of that break and briefly broke the momentum with a layup from Chikilra Goodman. The hawks then used back-to-back layups from Englert and Elliott to take a 44-35 lead. The layup from Englert pushed her over the double figure mark for the first time in the junior's career.

Another short break in the Hartford run came with a layup from Proctor before Hartford strung together three unanswered baskets equaling seven straight and their first double digit advantage 51-37 with 5:03 remaining. An Alex Hall three pointer sandwiched baskets from Smith and Doherty in that run.

The final basket in that run would be the only for Hartford over the next four minutes, but defensively the Hawks stepped up and only allowed Stony Brook to score two baskets in that stretch, maintaining the double digit advantage thanks to a free throw from Elliott.

A layup from Elliott with 1:18 remaining and a three pointer from her with 12 seconds left on the clock cemented the victory and a .500 record in league play for the Hawks.

Hartford continues a two-game home stand on Wednesday when they welcome the UMBC Retrievers to the Chase Family Arena. The game, which is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m., serves as the second in a series of Education Games in which local elementary, middle and high school students will attend the game as part of the ECHO Curriculum created by the Connecticut General Assembly.