PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Senior guard Amber Bepko dropped a season-high 23 points to lead the University of Hartford women's basketball team to a 57-54 win over the visiting Providence College Friars on Thursday night at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Hartford improves to 3-0 on the season, the seventh time under 16th year head coach Jen Rizzotti that the Hawks have won their first three games.

Bepko's 23 points is her second 20-plus game of the season after scoring 20 in a road win at Central Connecticut on Monday night. She finished tonight's game shooting 8-of-11 overall, including 5-of-7 from beyond the three point arc. Included was a clutch three pointer off a feed from sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza with 2:28 remaining that broke a 52-52 tie. Mayza would finish the game with a career-high nine assists, giving the Pennsburg, Pa. native 20 assists over three games in 2014-15.

Joining Bepko in leading the Hawks offense was senior Cherelle Moore who finished with 12 points, nine of which came in the opening half. Moore finished the game shooting 5-of-11 from the field and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, the third straight game she has led the Hawks in rebounding.

Overall, Hartford finished the game shooting 39.3 percent on 22-of-56, including making seven of 21 attempts from beyond the three point line. The Hawks also combined for 17 assists and 12 steals, both new season bests. The Friars won the battle of the boards by a 40-34 margin.



GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·        Senior guard Amber Bepko increased her season high to 23 points, finishing 8-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-7 form beyond the three point arc. This is the second-straight game Bepko has scored 20 or more points and the sixth time in her career.

·        Sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza dished out nine assists, a new career-high for the Pennsburg, Pa. native. She would also score seven points and grab four rebounds and two steals.

·        Defensively, the Hawks forced Providence into 20 turnovers, including 16 in the first 20 minutes. The Hawks would finish the game scoring 20 points off of those turnovers, while collecting 12 total steals led by Bepko with four. She is now six steals shy of joining the top-10 all-time in career take-a-ways.  

·        Senior forward Cherelle Moore scored in double figures for the first time this season, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 2-of-3 at the free throw line. The Bridgeport, Conn. native had a stretch of three-straight field goals in the first half that ended with the Hawks leading 16-10. Moore would also lead the Hawks rebounding efforts for the third straight game grabbing nine boards.

·        For the third time in as many games, the Hawks have outshot their opponent, finishing tonight's game with a 39.3 percent average on 22-of-56. Included was a 7-of-11 effort beyond the three point arc, giving the Hawks 19 three pointers through the first three games of the season, an average of 6.3 per game.
 

FROM THE COACH

"I was definitely pleased two games in a row now with our effort," said head coach Jen Rizzotti. "I feel like our mentality since we watched film from Friday was we have to utilize our depth, we have to have more energy, and we have to wear teams out. So, although we were a little shaky on offense, I feel like we got a lot out of our transition and a lot out of our depth. That's the key to us winning right now."
 

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS 

·        Hartford would score the first two buckets of the game and never let Providence get any closer than a two point deficit. The Hawks biggest lead of the game came with six minutes remaining before the intermission, a 15-point advantage, 31-16. That lead came thanks to a five point rally on a jumper from Amber Bepko and a second-chance three pointer from Morgan Lumb off a feed from Cherelle Moore.

·        The Hawks would build that 15 point edge thanks to a stretch where they outscored Providence 17-6, including five-straight points from Deanna Mayza as she drove to the hoop for a layup and 40 seconds later drained a three pointer off an assist from Shanise Bultron.  

·        Bepko led all scorers in the first 20 minutes, hitting 5-of-6 from the field, including all three of her attempts from long range, to finish with 15 points in 14 minutes of work. Moore would join her in leading the team with nine points, while grabbing five rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

·        Hartford finished the opening half shooting 43.8 percent overall on 14-of-32, and made 5-of-10 from beyond the three point arc.
 

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS 

·        The Hawks regained a double digit edge twice in the first four minutes of the second half thanks to jump shots from Janelle Harrison and a fast break jumper from Deanna Mayza.  

·        The Friars began to chip away at the lead with a 8-2 stretch that pulled them within four with 13:31 remaining. Hartford answered by scoring seven of the next nine points to regain a nine point lead, 49-40, thanks to five unanswered points from Bepko (three pointer) and Harrison (2-2 at the line).

·        After being held without a field goal for a five minute stretch, that allowed the Friars to tie the game at 52, senior Amber Bepko came off the bench to hit back-to-back baskets, giving the Hawks a 57-52 edge that they wouldn't relinquish. The first of those baskets was a three pointer with 2:28 remaining that broke the tie, which lasted for 39 seconds total. She would add a jump shot on the next possession for a five-point swing that spanned 54 seconds.  

·        After Hartford missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity with 27 seconds remaining, the Hawks defense took over and forced a pair of off target opportunities from the Friars. Trailing by three, the Friars first attempt was a drive to the basket that rimmed out for an offensive rebound. A second-change three point shot, that would have tied the game, was off the mark and fell to the hands of Bepko who was fouled.

·        Despite still trailing by three in the final seconds, the Friars wouldn't manage to get off a shot attempt thanks to a crucial deflection by freshman guard Mary Pattison that left Providence with just over one second to go the length of the floor.
 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

·        This is the third-straight game that Hartford has outshot its opponent as they finished just shy of 40 percent for the game, connecting on 22-of-56 attempts. Leading the shooting efforts was senior Amber Bepko who finished 8-of-11 overall and is now 14-of18 (.778) over the last two games.

·        Hartford has now opened a season winning its first three games for the seventh time under 16 year head coach Jen Rizzotti who is now eight wins shy of reaching the 300 career win milestone.

·        Bepko's 23 point effort against the Friars is her second-straight game scoring 20-plus points and the sixth time in her career.  

·        The career-high nine assists for Deanna Mayza is the most in a single game for Hartford since December 29, 2011 when Daphne Elliott matched that number in a home game against Harvard.

·        Senior Cherelle Moore has now led Hartford in rebounding in all three games in 2014-15. For her career, the senior forward has led the team in rebounding 23 times.
 

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less) 

·        Senior Amber Bepko extended her season-high to 23 points to lead the Hawks to a 57-54 win over the Big East's Providence Friars.

·        The 23 points for Bepko is her second 20-plus game of the season and the sixth of her career.  

·        SO point guard Deanna Mayza dished out a career-high nine assists, the most for a Hawk since Dec. 2011 (Daphne Elliott – 9 vs Harvard)

·        Senior Cherelle Moore led Hartford for the third straight game with nine rebounds, to go along with 12 points, two assists and two steals.
 

UP NEXT
The Hawks will play their next five games away from home, beginning with a weekend match-up against the Lafayette Leopards on Sunday, November 23. The first ever meeting between Hartford and Lafayette is scheduled to tip off at Kirby Sports Center at 2 p.m.