THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 76, Binghamton 73 (2ot)
RECORDS: Hartford (14-6, 5-2 AE); Binghamton (9-11, 4-3 AE)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)

THE LEAD:
 
It took two overtimes, but the University of Hartford women's basketball team took down visiting Binghamton, grasping sole possession of second place in the America East standings with a 76-73 victory over the Bearcats on Wednesday night. Freshman Sierra DaCosta scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers, joining sophomore Lindsey Abed (15) and junior Janelle Harrison (14) in double figures.

Both teams traded blows throughout the game, as the lead changed hands 13 times. But with 2:15 remaining in the second overtime session, sophomore Kelly Douglass erased a one-point deficit and put the Hawks on top for good at 74-73 with a layup. Junior Darby Lee added a game-best 13 rebounds in the win. 
 
Jasmine Sina led the Bearcats in the losing effort with 17 points, while Imani Watkins compiled the game's lone double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.



FIRST HALF:
The Hawks and Bearcats traded blows to start the game, with Binghamton opening up a 10-6 edge on a Sina triple. But the Hawks mounted a 5-0 spurt behind a Deanna Mayza layup and a DaCosta three to gain a one-point advantage with 3:08 left. That Hartford lead grew to three at 15-12, but a three-point play by Alyssa James tied up the score at 15-all before the end of the quarter.

A 6-2 spurt, including four-straight points from senior Alyssa Reaves to begin the second quarter, gave the Hawks a 21-17 lead with 6:41 remaining. Binghamton responded with six unanswered points to push ahead by two, but Hartford ended the half on a roll. Abed got hot from long range, delivering back-to-back makes from three-point range to put the lead back in the Hawks' hands. Those triples sparked an 8-2 run, with a Mary Pattison layup giving Hartford a 30-26 advantage at the break.
 
SECOND HALF:
A hot-shooting third quarter helped the Hawks start to pull away from the Bearcats. Hartford shot 63.6 percent from the field in the stanza, using a 4-for-5 start from the floor to go up by nine (39-30) at the 5:47 mark. Five-straight points – a three-pointer and a long two – from Abed extended the Hawks' lead to 12 (44-32) with 3:12 to go. The Bearcats managed to make a dent in their deficit, though, making five-straight from the free-throw line to close the gap to 46-37 heading into the fourth.
 
BU quickly clawed its way back in the final quarter. Facing a 50-41 deficit, the Bearcats rallied for a 10-0 run, with a James layup at the 6:27 mark giving BU a 51-50 edge. Three more lead changes would see Hartford hold a 60-57 lead with 2:31 left, but Carly Boland drilled a three-pointer with less than 20 seconds left to knot up the score and send the game to overtime.
 
OVERTIME:
The Bearcats struck first in overtime, taking a 63-60 edge on a free throw from James and a jumper from Watkins. The lead didn't last long, though, as DaCosta knotted the score with a three-pointer at 3:47. It marked the first of her 10 points in overtime.
 
With 1:13 left, Binghamton led by five on a three-pointer from Sina with 1:12 left to play, before DaCosta went on a personal 5-0 run in the final minute. Trailing 70-67, she scored on a layup and was fouled. She hit the free throw to even the score for the sixth time in the game, this time at 70-70, and the Bearcats couldn't convert on their final possession.
 
DOUBLE OVERTIME:
Kai Moon completed a three-point play for Binghamton early in the second overtime period, giving the Bearcats a 73-71 advantage with 3:20 to go. But that would be the final points of the game for the visiting squad. Janelle Harrison cut the Hawks deficit to 73-72 and, following an offensive rebound by DaCosta, Mayza found Douglass under the hoop for what turned out to be the game-winning layup. Douglass' shot put Hartford on top, 74-73, and Harrison padded the lead with a layup on the Hawks' final possession.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• DaCosta shot 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three on the night. From the line, she was even more impressive, making 8-of-9.
• Lee had a quiet scoring night but was dominant on the boards, pulling down a career-high 13 caroms.
• Pattison provided solid minutes off the bench in the first half for the Hawks. In a season-best 10 minutes, she had three points and an assist.
• The Hawks entered the game ranked sixth in the nation in steals, but BU held a 9-8 advantage in the category.
• Binghamton forced 24 Hartford turnovers, scoring 29 points off of those miscues. It marked the most committed by the Hawks in a game this season.

NEWS & NOTES:

• The double-overtime game was Hartford's first since 2010-11, when it dropped a 67-60 decision at UMBC. The victory was the first since the Hawks defeated Vermont, 76-70, on the road in 2003-04.
• Scoring its second-straight defeat of the Bearcats, Hartford improves to 26-9 in the all-time series.
• The Hawks remain perfect in home games since the start of America East action with a 4-0 record.

 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks complete their first tour of the America East Conference on Saturday, Jan. 28, with a trip to defending league champion UAlbany. The Hawks and Great Danes are slated for a 2 p.m. tip from SEFCU Arena.