WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford women's basketball team picked up their second-consecutive win on Wednesday night defeating Wentworth Institute of Technology by a 62-45 final score. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Leopards jumped ahead by a 12-2 margin over the first five minutes of the game. Freshman Maya Okoro (Frisco, Texas) stopped the run with a bucket, followed by another finish by sophomore Taryn Blevins (St. Louis, Mo.) as the Hawks trailed by eight. Sophomore Kristen Trembley (Granby, Mass.) netted a three, but so did the Leopards as the score was 19-9 in favor of the visitors headed into the second quarter. 
• Wentworth continued its hot start finishing a layup to push the advantage to 21-9, but the Hawks battled back going on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes of game-action highlighted by a bucket and an assist by freshman Maddie MacCannell (Portsmouth, N.H.). The Leopards snuck in a bucket in the final seconds to take a 23-21 advantage headed into break. 
• Freshman Mackenzie Hohulin (Plymouth, Mass.) kicked off the second half strong for the Hawks burying two shots from behind the arc as the Hawks went on another 11-0 run with the five other points coming from sophomore Lauren Sabia (Simsbury, Conn.). Sophomore Jaida Cunningham (Siesta Key, Fla.) finished a layup to cap off another six-point spurt for the Hawks as they saw a 40-28 lead with 2:03 to play in the third quarter. Hartford would take a 13-point lead headed into the final 10 minutes. 
• Cunningham kicked off the fourth with a tough finish starting another 6-2 run. MacCannell and Cunningham both had paint finishes during the run extending the lead 50-33. The Leopards tried to make a comeback with a 6-1 counter with the lead trimmed to 12 with 5:35 to play. Sophomore Ella Marchesani (Saddle Brook, N.J.) pushed the lead right back with an and-one finish with 2:03 remaining as the Hawks cruised to a 62-45 win.  

Post Game Press:
"My team founding me down low and rebounding were what worked well for me today", said sophomore Jaida Cunningham (Siesta Key, Fla.). "We had a size advantage so I think that went well for us and pushing the tempo and making sure we are in our spots. Everyone did a good job executing today and moving the ball around. My team did a good job feeding me and making sure they look down the floor."

"Our whole game plan was to get the ball in the paint", said head coach Polly Thomason. "Whether that was post touches, drives, or rebounds we just felt like we had an advantage in the paint. We did not do that at all in the first quarter, we settled for threes, which to be honest with how we are shooting that is what teams are going to give us. We have to be way more disciplined and make them guard are inside. We are very capable of getting to the paint and forcing defense to guarding our offense from the inside. I am just happy we adjusted from our early mistakes and we found a way to win."

Inside the Numbers:

• Cunningham led the Hawks with nine points (4-8 FG, 1-2 FT), eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. Sabia netted 11 points (4-15 FG, 1-6 3PT, 2-2 FT) and a pair of boards. MacCannell stuffed the stat sheet with six points (3-4 FG) seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Sophomore Kendall Rieman (Chicago, Ill.) added four points (2-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-1 FT), seven rebounds and three steals. 
• Taylor Garabedian paced the Leopards with 19 points (5-12 FG, 0-2 3PT, 9-10 FT), five rebounds and an assist. 
• The Hawks were stellar in the paint scoring 36 points, while also getting 33 points off of turnovers and 34 points from the reserves. 

Up Next: 
The Hawks will go on winter break being in action next on December 29th in the Sandy DeWolf McCormack Memorial Holiday Tournament.

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