PHOTO GALLERY

VESTAL, N.Y. – Senior Cherelle Moore dominated the entire 40 minutes against Maine, closing out the America East semifinal match-up against the top seeded Maine Black Bears with 23 points and 10 rebounds for her second double double in the last three games. Moore and the Hawks defeated the Black Bears by a 65-54 margin and will advance to the America East Championship game for the second time in the last three years and the ninth time overall.

Moore's 23 points led all players in the game as she finished 11-of-16 from the field for a 69 percent effort. Added to that, her 10 rebounds completes her sixth double double of the season and the ninth of her career. Joining Moore in leading the Hawks was classmate Amber Bepko and sophomore Morgan Lumb who finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

As a team, Hartford finished the game shooting a season-high 54.5 percent overall on 24-of-44, including making 4-of-11 three point attempts (36.4 percent). Included in the overall shooting efforts was a season-best of 57.7 percent in the first half as the Hawks finished 15-of-26 over the first 20 minutes. Hartford also finished 13-of-16 at the free throw line, including a 5-of-6 effort in the final 28 seconds from Lumb as she secured the victory from the line.

Defensively, the Hawks held the second best shooting team in the league to 30.6 percent (22-of-72) for the game, 13 percentage points below their season average. Hartford's defense also held the Black Bears leading scorer and First Team All-League honoree Liz Wood scoreless as she finished 0-of-9 for the game after averaging over 14 points for the game.  

Moore's 10 rebounds led Hartford in rebounding as she was joined by Lumb who finished with a career-high nine boards, one shy of her first career double double. Also setting a career-best against the Black Bears was junior Christie Michals who dished out a team-high six assists, joined by sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza who finished with five assists and is now three shy of tying Maureen DiJulia ('99) for the single season school record in assists.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·       Senior Cherelle Moore completed her sixth double double of the season and her fifth 20-plus scoring game of the year, leading the Hawks with 23 points on an impressive 11-of-16 from the field. Moore finished in the opening half missing just two of her 10 total field goal attempts, closing out the half with 16 points. Moore completed the double double with 10 rebounds, her sixth game of the season with 10 or more boards.

·       Hartford finished with a season-best shooting effort, connecting on 54.5 percent of their shots (24-of-44). Included in that total is an impressive 57.7 percent in the first half alone, making 15-of-26 attempts, also a season-best.

·       Joining Moore in leading Hartford for the game was classmate Amber Bepko and sophomore Morgan Lumb who finished with 14 and 11 points respectively. Lumb also pulled down nine rebounds, a career-high as she finished one board short of her first career double double.

·       Defensively, Hartford held Maine to just 30.6 percent for the game, 13 percentage points below the Black Bears season average.

·       A pair of Hawks dished out five-plus assists for the game, led by junior forward Christie Michals who finished with a career-high six helpers. She was joined by sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza who finished with five assists, her 19th game of the season with five or more assists.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·       After Maine scored the first two baskets of the game, Hartford shutdown the Black Bears offense and went on a 9-0 run that resulted in the only lead change of the game as the Hawks took a 9-4 advantage they would never relinquish.

·       Hartford would turn that run into a 13-2 rally that concluded with a 13-6 lead with 12:06 remaining. During that run, the Hawks held Maine 0-of-8 from the field and without a field goal for over six minutes.

·       Maine would battle back to tie the game at 17, with Hartford responding by going on a 10-3 run, matching its largest lead of the half at 27-20 with 2:44 remaining.

·       Hartford would then close out the first half scoring the final five points on a three pointer from sophomore Deanna Mayza and a layup at the buzzer from junior Christie Michals. Michals basket came as Hartford had possession under the hoop with 2.2 seconds remaining. After taking the inbound pass from Mayza, the junior forward turned and laid in her first basket of the game.  

·       Senior Cherelle Moore led the Hawks in the opening half, finishing with 16 points, the only player to finish with double digits. She finished the half making 8-of-10 attempts from the field, while also pulling down a half-best six rebounds.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·       Hartford came out of the locker room and extended their 10 points lead to 12 points with a backdoor layup from sophomore Morgan Lumb off a feed from junior Christie Michals. That 12 point lead turned out to be the largest of the game for Hartford. The Hawks matched that lead on their next possession thanks to a layup from Mayza as she drove the baseline.

·       Maine battled to pull their deficit to a single possession with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. Hartford responded by rattling off the next four points, all at the free throw line with a pair each from senior Amber Bepko and freshman Darby Lee.

·       After another rally pulled the Black Bears within two with 7:09 remaining, the Hawks answered again, this time scoring the next seven points all from senior Cherelle Moore who went 3-of-3 from the field in that stretch and also completed a three point play on her final layup.

·       Bepko then provided a big three pointer from the corner just in front of the Hawks bench, breaking a 5-0 run for the Black Bears and extending Hartford's lead back to seven at 59-52 with 2:04 remaining. The Hawks would then turn to the free throw line where they finished 6-of-8 over the final 85 seconds to secure the victory and advance to the America East title game for the ninth time in the history of the program.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·      Senior Cherelle Moore finished with 23 points, her fifth 20-plus performance of the season and also grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with her sixth double double of the year. Moore finished the game 11-of-16 from the field, while also making her only free throw attempt.

·       As a team, Hartford posted its best shooting efforts of the season, making 24-of-44 attempts for 54.5 percent. Included in that effort was a season-high first half performance with the Hawks making 15-of-26 for 57.7 percent. Hartford also finished the first half with a 20-16 rebounding advantage.  

·       A pair of Hawks set career highs on the afternoon. Leading Hartford's 17 team assists was six from junior Christie Michals, three more than her previous career best. The second career-high came in the rebounding column where sophomore Morgan Lumb pulled down nine boards, finishing one shy of her first career double double.

·       In addition to Michals six assists, sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza also added five, her 19th game of the year with five or more assists. With her five assists against Maine, Mayza is now three shy of tying the single season school record of 168.

·       Hartford's defensive put on an impressive showing, holding the second best shooting team in the league to 30.6 percent overall, which is 13 percentage points lower than their season total.

·       The Hawks finished with a 34-24 advantage in points in the paint, exposing the Black Bears defense on the inside.

·       Hartford makes its ninth appearance in the title game all-time, while as a fifth seed they are the third team to reach the championship game out of the five seed spot. Hartford has advanced to the title game twice as the five seed, and the Hawks are the only five seed to win a championship, which was the first ever in program history (2002).

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·       Hartford advances to its ninth America East Championship, second time as the five seed. The Hawks won the title as a 5 seed in 2002.

·       SR Cherelle Moore had a monster game in the semifinal, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds, her 6th career double double.

·       Two Hawks set career-highs against Maine – JR F Christie Michals  with six assists and SO G Morgan Lumb with 9 rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Hawks continue their quest for a sixth America East Championship with the title game on Friday, March 13 when they face the winner of #2 Albany and #6 UMBC. The title game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. tip off at the home court of the highest remaining seed and will be broadcast live on ESPNU with Eric Frede and Sue Bird on the call.