RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico – Senior forward Cherelle Moore joined classmate Amber Bepko in scoring a game-high 18 points, leading the University of Hartford women's basketball team (3-4) in a 69-59 loss to Florida State in the final game of the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Moore, who averaged 19.0 points per game over three games at the Cancun Challenge, was one of five players named to the Riviera Division All-Tournament Team.

Moore and Bepko were joined in double figures by sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza who finished with 11. Mayza has now put up double figures in all but one of the seven games in 2014. As a team, Hartford finished the game shooting 45.5 percent from the field (20-of-44), including making 8-of-19 from beyond the three point arc for 42.1 percent. The Hawks also finished with a perfect 11-of-11 effort at the free throw line.

Individually, Moore led the Hawks shooting efforts making 7-of-12 from the field for 58.3 percent, while she connected on all four of her attempts at the free throw line. She also led Hartford, and was tied with two Seminoles for the game-high, with seven rebounds. FSU won the battle of boards with a 32-27 margin.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·        Seniors Cherelle Moore and Amber Bepko each chipped in 18 points to lead all scorers in the Hawks final game of the Cancun Challenge. Moore finished the game shooting 7-of-12 from the field, while Bepko made 5-of-11 attempts, all five of which were from outside the arc.

·        Joining Moore and Bepko in scoring double figures was sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza who finished with 11 points, her sixth, in seven total, game in double figures. She also led the team with four assists.  

·        The Hawks put on an impressive show at the free throw line where they made all 11 of their attempts, including four from Moore and three from Bepko. Overall for the game, Hartford shot 45.5 percent on 20-of-44, including making 8-of-19 attempts from beyond the three point arc (42.1 percent).

·        Moore finished three rebounds shy of her second double double of the season, leading the team and tied for the game-high with seven rebounds. As a team, Hartford dropped the battle of the boards by a 32-27 margin. Joining her in leading the team was Bepko who finished with four.
 

FROM THE COACH
"We really battled this week against some tough teams," said head coach Jen Rizzotti. "Our goal was to win three games out here and we came up short, but I'm proud of the effort and fight our team showed against three great opponents."

FROM THE SENIOR FORWARD CHERELLE MOORE
"I just tried to do what I could to help the team and be a leader," said Moore. "We need to take the positives out of these games and keep getting better as a team one day at a time."
 

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·        Senior forward Cherelle Mooore scored the first four points and freshman forward Janelle Harrison followed with the next four Hawks points to give Hartford an early 8-6 advantage. For the first 20 minutes, Moore finished with six points while classmate Amber Bepko led the team with eight.

·        Back-to-back three pointers from Bepko just under eight minutes into the game broke a 10-10 tie and provided the Hawks largest lead of the game at 16-10 with 12:23 remaining. The first of those three's came off a feed from point guard Deanna Mayza, while junior Christie Michals provided the pass for the second.

·        Just over four minutes later another three pointer, this time from Mayza, broke a 12-0 run for the Seminoles. Just under two minutes after that, senior Shanise Bultron followed with another three pointer that tied the score for the fifth time in the half at 22-22.
 

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·        Trailing by eight at the break, the Hawks came out of the intermission to cut that deficit to one point all thanks to senior Amber Bepko who scored seven unanswered points in the first 99 seconds of the half. Both of her baskets in that rally came by way of three pointers, while the first was turned into a four point play as she was fouled on the play.

·        Ninety seconds after Bepko's run Cherelle Moore cut the deficit back to one point with a jump shot. She would also provide the next basket with 13 minutes remaining in the game, with that bucket cutting the FSU lead to three points, the closest they would get the remainder of the game.

·        Trailing by 15 points with just under five minutes remaining, the Hawks rallied to score six unanswered points and cut their deficit back into single digits. That run started with a pair of free throws from Moore, while Deanna Mayza followed that with back-to-back baskets that came 53 seconds apart and put the score at 63-54 with 2:02 remaining.
 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·        Senior Cherelle Moore closed out her fifth straight game in double figures scoring 18 points tied with classmate Amber Bepko for the team and game-high. Moore's 18 points added to her 26 against Washington and 13 against Furman combine for an average of 19 points per game at the Cancun Challenge and an All-Tournament honor for the Bridgeport, Conn. native.

·        Sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza joined Moore and Bepko in double figures, her sixth time in seven games scoring in double digits. She also led the team with four assists.

·        As a team, Hartford put up its best shooting numbers in the three-game Cancun Challenge against FSU, connecting on a total of 45.5 percent from the field (20-of-44). Included was an 8-of-19 effort beyond the three point arc for 42.1 percent, while the Hawks did not miss any of their 11 free throw attempts.
 

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·        SR Cherelle Moore was one of five players named to the Riviera Division All-Tournament Team, averaging 19 points at the Cancun Challenge.

·        Moore's 18 points tied Amber Bepko for the game-high in scoring while they were joined by Deanna Mayza who finished with 11.

·        Moore also led Hartford with seven rebounds, the fifth time in seven games she has led the teams rebounding efforts.
 

UP NEXT
The Hawks will close out a five game road trip with a mid-day match up against the Dartmouth Big Green on Thursday, December 4. The Big Green will be hosting and educational day at Leede Arena with tip off scheduled for 12 p.m.