University of Hartford

THE BASICS:

RESULT: Dartmouth 43, Hartford 36
RECORDS: Hartford (4-5); Dartmouth (2-8)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
ATTENDANCE: 783

THE LEAD: The University of Hartford women's basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season on Saturday afternoon, as it dropped a 43-36 decision to visiting Dartmouth College. A 9-0 Big Green run in the third quarter proved to be the difference in the game, as the Hawks were never able to bounce back from that rally. Junior Katelyn Skinner dropped three triples and matched her career-high in scoring with 11 points in the losing effort, while Dartmouth's Daisy Jordan led all scorers with 14.

FIRST HALF:
A back-and-forth start saw the game knotted at 9-9 with 4:06 to go in the stanza. The two teams continued to trade buckets, as Skinner's second three of the quarter provided the Hawks with a 14-12 edge with two minutes left. Dartmouth cut that lead to a point before the end of the first, though, as Kate Letkewicz was fouled on a jumper at the buzzer. She made the front end of two free throws to make it a 14-13 Hawks edge.

The opening part of the second half featured poor shooting from both sides. Neither team added points to the scoreboard for the first 5:36, until Mayza was fouled on a three-point attempt. She converted on all three free throws to make it a 17-13 Hartford lead, before the Big Green came back and pushed ahead by one point using a 5-0 spurt. That run was started by an Amber Mixon three-pointer, which was the first made field goal seen by either side in more than seven minutes.

The Hawks would tie up the game twice, first at 18-18 and again at 20-all on a Skinner jumper, her eighth point of the half, but Dartmouth took the lead at the half thanks to a layup from Daisy Jordan with 65 ticks remaining. Skinner's eight points led all scorers at the break.

SECOND HALF:
Darby Lee opened up the half with a quick layup to draw the score even at 22-22, but the Hawks were unable to capitalize from that quick start. Missing the mark on its next seven shots while turning the ball over six times, Hartford allowed Dartmouth to go on a 9-0 run. Roland contributed four points during that stretch as the Big Green took a 31-22 lead with 4:46 left in the quarter.

Hartford started to show life late in the third. Ending the stanza with four-unanswered points on a Janelle Harrison jumper followed by a Lee layup, the Hawks extended that run in opening minutes of the fourth, cutting their deficit to two points (31-29) using a free throw from Lee and an Alyssa Reaves jump shot.

The Hawks would not come any closer, though, as Dartmouth went off for seven unanswered points to re-extend its lead to nine points at 38-29 at the 6:32 mark. Down the stretch, Hartford brought its deficit down to five with 1:44 left thanks to a spurt that featured a two-pointer from Harrison and a three-pointer from Skinner. But with the Hawks forced to foul to stop the clock, the Big Green held off the comeback bid and sealed the game from the charity stripe.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Hawks converted on just one field goal in the second quarter – a dribble jumper from Skinner with 1:18 remaining. That shot ended a Hartford field goal drought that spanned more than 10 minutes.
• The Big Green outshot the Hawks in the first half as they turned in a 36.4 percent effort (8-of-22), including a 3-of-5 clip from long range. Hartford converted on 7-of-30 attempts for 23.3 percent, making just 2-of-11 from downtown (18.2%).
• The Hawks forced 18 Big Green turnovers, scoring 11 points off of those turnovers. Dartmouth also had 11 points off of 14 Hartford turnovers.
• The Hawks struggled to convert from the field, as they went 24.1 percent (13-of-54) on the afternoon. That clip includes a 15.0 percent effort (3-of-20) from behind the three-point line.
• Making 5-of-9 three's for a 55.5 percent clip, Dartmouth shot 34.9 percent (15-of-43) in the game.

NEWS & NOTES:

• Skinner, who made a career-best three shots from downtown, matched her career-high in scoring with 11 points, a team-best.
• The setback was Hartford's first of the season inside of Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. The Hawks drop to 3-1 in home contests.

UP NEXT:                                                                     
The Hawks play at home for the final time in the non-conference season on Monday, Dec. 14, when they welcome the 24th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils to Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion at 6 p.m. The contest is part of a true doubleheader with the Hartford men's team as it will  host instate rival Sacred Heart later in the evening.