THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 67, Delaware 66
RECORDS: Hartford (8-4); Delaware (6-5)
LOCATION: Bob Carpenter Center (Newark, Del.)

THE LEAD:
 
An all-around team effort led the University of Hartford women's basketball team to a thrilling, 67-66 victory at Delaware on Wednesday evening. Four players scored in double figures for the Hawks, led by 14 from senior guard Deanna Mayza, who scored the 1,000th point of her career early in the second quarter.
 
Holding a slight edge for the entire fourth quarter, the Hawks clung to a 64-63 lead with less than a minute to go in the game. With the ball in Delaware's hands at midcourt, Mayza forced a crucial charge call for the Blue Hens' 21s turnover of the game, which translated into a key three-point play by rookie guard Sierra DaCosta with 11.1 seconds left. Erika Brown hit a three-pointer for the Blue Hens, but it didn't matter as the buzzer sounded right after to send the Hawks home with the one-point win.
 
Junior forward Janelle Harrison had a double-double for Hartford (12 points, 13 rebounds), while sophomore guard Lindsey Abed and DaCosta rounded out the Hawks' top scorers with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Nicole Enabosi tied a game-high in scoring with 14 points as Sade Chatman (12), Brown (12) and Hannah Jardine (11) also scored in double figures for the Blue Hens.

FIRST HALF:
The offense was clicking for both sides at the start of the game, as the Hawks and Blue Hens exchanged baskets to a 7-6 Hartford lead. But five unanswered points followed by an 8-0 run with back-to-back Jardine threes pushed Delaware's lead into double digits (19-9) with 1:37 to go in the first. Three late Blue Hens' turnovers benefited the Hawks down the stretch, though, as a 4-0 spurt closed the gap down to six (19-13) at the end of the opening quarter.
 
Harrison opened the second with a layup, making it six-straight points from the junior, but Delaware answered with a back-to-back layups to push its lead to 23-18 with 6:36 remaining. Capitalizing on a stretch of cold shooting by the Blue Hens, the Hawks clawed their way back by scoring 16 of the game's next 18 points. Mayza scored five-straight points – including the 1,000th of her career – to pull Hartford within three with 5:34 to go. That spurt was followed by an 11-0 run over the next 2:19, which made it a 31-25 lead for the Hawks with 2:12 remaining. Delaware made a dent in its deficit before the end of the half with a 6-2 spurt, but Hartford still took a 33-32 edge into the locker room.
 
SECOND HALF:
Less than three minutes out of the intermission, the Blue Hens regained the lead at 39-37 thanks to another Jardine triple. But an 8-0 run capped by four-straight points from Abed pushed the Hawks' advantage back to six (45-39) with 4:25 left in the stanza. Delaware remained within arms reach, but Hartford never relinquished its edge, holding a 49-47 edge at the end of three quarters.
 
Despite an exchange of baskets to start the fourth, the Hawks held on to their lead, and with 6:18 left to play, they were on top with a 60-55 advantage.  They were never able to pull away, though, as the Blue Hens made it a one-point game on a floater off the glass by Brown with 55.4 seconds remaining.

Following a timeout, a three-point attempt by Mazya rimmed out and Hartford was unable to control the offensive board, allowing the Blue Hens to advance the ball with a timeout. But Delaware came up empty on its possession thanks to a key charge drawn by Mayza. On the out-of-bounds play at midcourt, DaCosta got past the defense, made a layup through contact and finished the old-fashioned three-point play to make it a 67-63 Hawks' lead with 11.1 left on the clock. With Hartford up by four, Brown's three at the buzzer didn't matter, as the Hawks held on for the win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Pulling down the most rebounds for a Hawk in a game this season, Harrison compiled her second double-double of the season, and the third of her career.
• Harrison added a game-best five steals to match a career high.
• DaCosta's three-point play at the end of the game pushed her into double figures for the eighth-straight game, marking a season-best rally for the Hawks this season.
• Delaware shot 50.0 percent (25-for-50), including 60.0 percent (6-for-10) during its comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
• The Hawks shot 43.8 percent on the night (28-for-64), but went just 4-for-9 from the line for 44.4 percent.
• Defensively, Hartford forced 21 turnovers, marking the seventh time this season an opponent concedes 20 or more miscues.

NEWS & NOTES:

• Mayza became the 16th Hartford player in program history to score 1,000 points in Wednesday's win.
• The senior guard improved to fifth all-time in made three-pointers with 126 on her career.
• DaCosta made her first career start in the win.
• The victory snapped a seven-game skid against the Blue Hens, who held a 16-7 advantage in the series prior to Wednesday's clash. The two squads were former conference mates prior to Delaware departing the America East for the CAA in 2001.

 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks break for the holidays before returning to action on Friday, Dec. 30, for their non-conference finale at former conference-mate Hofstra. Tipoff from Hempstead, N.Y., is slated for 7 p.m. from the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.