BURLINGTON, Vt. – Senior's Nikkia Smith and Daphne Elliott each scored 12 points and the Hartford women's basketball team forced Vermont into 30 turnovers en route to a 60-51 road victory at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vt. With the victory Hartford improves to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in the America East.

Smith and Elliott were the only two Hawks in double figures while their 12 points led all players in the game. Two other Hawks finished on the cusp of double figures as Ruthanne Doherty and Amber Bepko each added nine points. Overall, all but one of the 10 Hartford players who saw time scored in a balanced offensive attack.

For the game, Hartford shot 39.2 percent on 20-of-51, making just 3-of-15 three point attempts (20 percent). At the line, the Hawks had 25 attempts and converted 17 of them. Despite forcing the Catamounts into 30 turnovers for the second straight game, Vermont still managed 50 shot attempts, thanks in large part to a 41-30 rebounding margin. Vermont finished the contest shooting 38 percent on 19-of-50.

In addition to the 30 turnovers forced, the Hawks finished the night with 20 steals, which marks the second-straight time Hartford has forced 30 miscues and grabbed 20 steals against the Catamounts in Burlington. Individually, Smith and Alyssa Englert led Hartford with four steals a piece.

After scoring the opening basket 68 seconds into the contest, a layup from Elliott, the Hawks gave up the next two hoops and a lead they wouldn't get back until seven minutes left in the second half. Tierra Shumpert scored those first two Vermont buckets before Alex Hall tied the score at four with a jump shot at 16:55. Vermont would go back-to-back again with layups from Annie Wheeler and Nikki Taylor to take an 8-4 advantage with 14:52 left in the half. Hartford would again manage to tie the game at eight with back-to-back jump shots from Katie Roth and Bepko but that was closest she would get until taking a lead with 6:51 remaining in the second half.

Vermont took as much as an 11 point lead in the first half on a 7-0 run culminating with a layup from Lauren Buschmann with 3:28 left in the half. That layup from Buschmann was the final basket of the half for Vermont as the Catamounts scored just four more points in the first half all on free throws.

Following Buschmann's basket the Hawks rattled off nine straight to pull within a basket, 24-22 with 1:40 remaining. Bepko and Doherty scored all nine points in the run, four from Doherty and five from Bepko. Vermont would convert 3-of-4 at the free throw line in the final four seconds to take a 28-23 advantage into the locker room.

Coming out of the intermission, Hartford scored six of the first eight points to pull within a bucket at 30-29 with 17:11 remaining. All six points came from different players. After trading the next two baskets, the Catamounts scored five straight to regain a six point advantage with 15:04 left in the game.

Hartford responded to that deficit by scoring the next six points and tying the score at 37, while holding Vermont without a bucket for just under six minutes before Taylor broke that drought with a layup. A three pointer from Shumpert 55 seconds later provided a 42-39 advantage before Hartford rallied again, this time scoring nine straight. A three pointer from Shanise Bultron provided the Hawks largest lead to that point at 48-52 with 4:23 remaining.

After trading the next two hoops, Vermont began a comeback rally that pulled them within a basket at 50-48 with 125 seconds remaining. The Hawks would then score back-to-back baskets from Smith to regain a six point advantage, while also scoring 4-of-6 at the line to regain a double digit advantage at 58-48 with 26 seconds remaining. A breakaway layup at the buzzer from Elliott would provide the final differential with Hartford scoring a 60-51 road victory.

Hartford continues a two-game road trek with a Saturday afternoon matinee against the Boston University Terriers. The Hawks and Terriers are scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. tip at Case Gymnasium in a contest that will air live on NESN throughout New England. T 37-31 with