PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Hartford women's basketball team picked up a huge Conference of New England (CNE) victory on Tuesday night defeating Johnson & Wales University by a 69-64 final to improve to 3-1 in CNE play. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Hawks started fast once again leading 6-4 off of three-pointers made by junior Ella Marchesani (Saddle Brook, N.J.) and junior Taryn Blevins (St. Louis, Mo.). Junior Lauren Sabia (Simsbury, Conn.) joined the three-party knocking down one of her own, followed by another from deep for Marchesani as the Hawks led 12-8 with 2:14 to play. The Wildcats tried to keep the game close, but a Marchesani jumper gave the Hawks a 14-9 lead after one quarter. 
• Blevins kept Hartford up 16-11 with a jump shot to open second quarter scoring for the visitors. An and-one by junior Ava Naszimento (Secaucus, N.J.) kept the visitors in front by five points, but JWU would respond with five-straight to tie the game. Marchesani answered with her third trifecta of the first half. Blevins added another pull-up jumper, but the home team would get its first lead with 4:20 to play at 27-24. Hartford would respond with a 7-2 run highlighted by a huge three for Sabia to get the lead change. Freshman Allie Shenloogian (Park Ridge, N.J.) would close the first half strong with back-to-back buckets as Hartford led 35-31 into the break. 
• Blevins would once again keep the Hawks on top to start the third quarter knocking down a contested jumper as the lead was 39-34. Sabia was feeling it knocking down a pair of threes part of a 8-2 Hawk run as the lead hit double-digits with 5:52 to play. The Wildcats would chip away over the next four minutes cutting the deficit to just two points, but Blevins would drill a huge triple as Hartford led 53-48 heading into the fourth. 
• Blevins continued her scoring getting a bucket followed by a Naszimento layup as the teams traded baskets to start the fourth. The lead would stay hovering between four and two points, eventually with the visitors going up by six on a basket for freshman Gabrielle Matthews (Raleigh, N.C.). A filthy post move by Naszimento generated a huge bucket with 2:37 to play which saw Hartford up 66-60. The teams traded free throws over the final time with the Hawks holding on for the 69-64 win. 

Post Game Press:
"This win started in practice preparing every drill, every rep, every detail mattered to us", said junior Taryn Blevins (St. Louis, Mo.). "Once we got onto the floor we executed everything we had been working on."

Inside The Numbers:

• Blevins posted a season-high 18 points (7-12 FG, 2-3 3PT, 2-2 FT) in the victory to go with three rebounds. Sabia who was recently named to the NEWBA team of the week tallied 17 points (5-10 FG, 5-6 3PT, 2-4 FT) with four boards. Marchesani registered 16 points (5-10 FG, 3-5 3PT, 3-4 FT), seven rebounds and two assists. Naszimento was huge in the victory posting 12 points (4-11 FG, 4-5 FT), 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. 
• Brianne Foley paced the Wildcats with 19 points (7-14 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-4 FT), eight rebounds and five assists. Grace Jaffray added 18 points (6-16 FG, 2-7 3PT, 4-5 FT), five rebounds, three steals and two blocks. 
• Hartford shot a scorching 10-14 (71.4%) from three in victory while also posting a 18-4 advantage on second chance points. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will host Endicott College on Saturday with a 1:00 PM start time in a huge CNE match up. 

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