University of Hartford

THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 65, Boston College 56
RECORDS: Hartford (1-0); BC (0-1)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)

THE LEAD:
 
The Kim McNeill Era got off to a thrilling start, as the University of Hartford women's basketball team knocked off ACC foe Boston College, 65-56, inside of the Reich Family Pavilion on Friday night. Sophomore Lindsey Abed led four Hawks in double figures with a career-high 16 points as Hartford, which led by 14 at the end of the third, held on down the stretch for the win.

Half of Abed's points came during the decisive second stanza, which saw the Hawks take a 22-point advantage behind a quarter-opening, 19-0 run. Senior Deanna Mayza contributed 14 points and a game-high eight assists while junior Darby Lee and freshman Sierra DaCosta added 10 and 11 points, respectively. Mariella Fasoula netted a game-best 19 points for the Eagles in the losing effort.

FIRST HALF:
The lead changed hands three times in the opening minutes of the game, but a one-minute stretch that featured intense defensive pressure from Hartford quickly changed that. Forcing a pair of turnovers in the backcourt, the Hawks put together an 8-0 run to take a 12-5 lead over BC with 3:26 remaining in the first. Hartford held on to that edge for good, despite the Eagles trimming the gap down to three at 16-13 by the end of the quarter using an 8-4 spurt fueled by three-pointers from Georgia Pineau and Kelly Hughes.
 
The opening minutes of the second quarter proved to be the game-changing moment of the game. The Hawks came out of the gates on fire, scoring 19-unanswered points to extend the lead to 22 at 35-12 with 5:03 remaining. Five different players contributed to that run, which included a pair of three-pointers from Abed and one from DaCosta. BC followed that run with a spurt of nine-unanswered points to close in on the Hawks, but Hartford still led by double-digits at the break (39-26).
 
SECOND HALF:
Out of the intermission, the Hawks continued to rally. With 4:24 to go in the third, Hartford maintained a 20-point edge at 49-29, with a three-point play from DaCosta followed by a triple from Mayza helping the Hawks preserve their cushion. The Eagles did make a push, though, as they trimmed their deficit in half at 50-40 with 39 seconds left in the quarter, but Abed bailed the Hawks out with two clutch shots down the stretch. In the final 13 seconds, she drilled back-to-back jumpers to push the lead to 54-40 heading into the final quarter.

BC refused to go down without a fight in the fourth quarter. Scoring the first six points of the stanza, the Eagles continued to chip away at their deficit, eventually pulling within six at 56-50 with just over three minutes to go. BC would get no closer, though, as Lee, Mayza and senior Alyssa Reaves combined for a 5-for-6 effort at the stripe to hold off the late Eagles' charge.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Hartford's bench was a key contributor in the win, as it outscored that of BC, 19-2. DaCosta led the Hawks off the bench with 11 points while sophomore Jalay Knowles and junior Janelle Harrison each added four.
• Defensively, the Hawks' pressure wrecked havoc on BC's offense. Overall, Hartford forced 23 Eagles' turnovers, which translated into 19 points on the other end of the court.
• Twelve of Abed's team-high 16 points came before the halftime break behind 5-for-9 shooting.
• Each of Mayza's game-best eight assists came during the first half, helping Hartford take a 39-26 lead into the halftime break.
• The under-sized Hawks finished even in rebounding with the Eagles, as each team pulled down 35. Hartford, which was led by Reave's six rebounds, corralled 13 offensive boards in the contest.
• BC finished the game shooting 44.9 percent (22-of-49) from the field, including 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from three.
• After turning in a 45.7 percent effort from the floor in the first, the Hawks cooled off in the second, shooting just 25.9 percent to allow BC to make it a game down the stretch.

NEWS & NOTES:

• The win was the first for McNeill, who was hired as the eighth head coach in program history after combining for 16 years as an assistant coach, including a recent stint at Virginia where she grew into the role of Associate Head Coach.
• The Hawks' win over BC ended a three-game skid against the Eagles. BC still holds an 11-2 advantage in the all-time series.
• Hartford's last win against an ACC opponent came against BC during the 2011-12 season, a 54-45 home victory on Dec. 10.
• The Hawks, who extended their opening-day winning streak to three games, improved to 22-12 in season openers since transitioning to Division I. In addition, when opening the new season at home, Hartford is 14-6 behind six-straight wins.

 
UP NEXT:
The turnaround is quick for the Hawks, as they host Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday, Nov. 13, with tipoff slated for 2 p.m. The Eagles racked up 33 wins last year, the program's best mark since joining Division I, and finished as the runner-up of the 2016 WNIT.