CHICAGO, Ill. – The Hartford women's basketball dropped the opening game of its two-game weekend set at Chicago State, 79-60, on Saturday. The Hawks drop to 2-24 on the season, while the Cougars improve to 5-22 on the year.
CHICAGO STATE 79, HARTFORD 60
Hartford wasted little time getting the offense rolling, jumping out to an early 8-1 advantage with 4:48 remaining in the opening frame. However, Chicago State battled back utilizing an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to take their first lead of the game at 9-8. After trading baskets throughout the remainder of the quarter, the Hawks would take a slight 16-14 lead into the second.
The Cougars would regain their first quarter advantage after utilizing a 14-3 run to open the second and grow their lead to as much as 28-19 with just under five minutes remaining in the half. The Hawks would claw their way back into the game after back-to-back three pointers from graduate student
Jasmine Barnes and junior
Lanae Johnson-Kleinpeter fueled a 10-0 run for Hartford. However, Chicago State would close out the first half of action on a 10-2 run to take a 39-31 lead into the locker room.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Hawks brought the game within striking distance when sophomore
Nayeli Dowding drained a mid-range jumper to close the gap to just eight points at 43-35 with 8:20 remaining the third. After the Hawks brought the game within single digits, the Cougars would go on 8-3 run over the final five minutes of the third to take a 58-43 lead into the fourth. Chicago State's lead proved to be too much for the Hawks to overcome as they fell by a final score of, 79-60.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- Dowding led the Hawks in scoring, finishing with 12 points and a career-high four assists
- Barnes and freshman Tatum Forbes each scored in double figures, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively
- Senior Irene Primo notched her 300th career points, finishing with nine on the afternoon
- The Hawks as a team shot a season-best 20-23 from the free throw line
- Chicago State outrebounded Hartford 36-35
- Ahlea Myers led the game in scoring, finishing with 17 points for the Cougars
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks round out their 2022-23 campaign Sunday at 1 p.m. with the final game of their two-game weekend set at Chicago State.
