ALBANY, N.Y. – Redshirt Freshman Katie Roth led all players with 15 points as the Hartford women's basketball team scored a 68-53 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats in the opening game of the 2013 America East Championship presented by SEFCU. Roth and the Hawks advance to face  #6 Vermont on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. The win for Hartford also secured their seventh 20-win season in school history and the first since 2010.

Roth was joined by two members of the senior class, Nikkia Smith and Daphne Elliott, in double figures. Elliott finished the game with 11 points, while Smith added 10. For the game, Hartford combined to shoot 45.1 percent from the field (23-of-51) with Roth and Alex Hall leading the way. Roth connected on five of her eight attempts, with one of those a three pointer, while Hall finished 4-of-6 with a three pointer for nine points. Hall started the contest making her first four shot attempts.

As a team, the Hawks also capitalized at the line hitting 15 of their 18 free throw attempts for 83.3 percent. From beyond the arc, the Hawks finished 7-of-17 for 41.2 percent. Defensively, Hartford forced the Bearcats into 12 turnovers, while committing just eight, and turned those miscues into 13 points. Hartford also finished the game with 14 assists, in 23 baskets, with Elliott and Amber Bepko leading the team with four.

The Bearcats would turnaround an early 5-2 Hartford advantage by scoring five straight to take their first lead of the contest less than four minutes in. That lead came courtesy of a long ball from Stephanie Jensen. That was also the only lead the Bearcats would manage as Hartford responded by scoring the next six and regaining an 11-7 advantage they wouldn't relinquish.

That Hawks run included their second three pointer, from Shanise Bultron, and a layup from Ruthanne Doherty. After four-straight gave Hartford a 21-13 advantage, their largest to that point, with 8:46 remaining, the Bearcats cut the lead down to four using another three from Jensen and 1-of-2 at the line from Kara Elofson.

Hartford responded by scoring eight of the next 10 and taking their first double digit lead of the contest 29-19 with 3:34 remaining. The teams would then trade three point plays to end half, the first a layup-and-one from Binghamton's Sherae Swinson, the second a three pointer from Bepko. At the break, Hartford was shooting at a 50-percent clip on 12-of-24 and was led by Elliott with seven points.

Coming out of the intermission, the teams traded the first two baskets before the Bearcats cut the Hawks lead to five on back-to-back baskets from Simone Thomas and Mallory Lawes. Hartford answered that five-point Bearcat run by scoring 11 of the next 13 to gain a 14-point advantage, 45-31. Included in the Hawks 11 point run were three three-pointerss, one each from Roth, Bultron and Bepko.

Binghamton responded by scoring five-straight and cutting the lead back into single digits t 45-36, but the Hawks answered that with their seventh three pointer of the game, this one from Hall. Following Hall's long range basket, the teams would trade the next four until the Bearcats managed to thread together an 8-2 run that cut Hartford's lead back into single digits, 56-48.

After a three pointer from Jensen pulled the Bearcats back within eight with just under two minutes to play, Hartford took advantage at the line making eight straight from the charity stripe in the 112 seconds. The final four from Smith secured the Hawks victory and their eighth trip to the conference semifinals in the last nine years.