the Informer

Photo courtesy of Adam Manison

Behind a school record 27 assists and 53 percent shooting from the floor, the Hartford women’s basketball team dismantled UMBC 85-45 for their 12th consecutive victory on Tuesday night. The winning streak is tied for the third longest in the nation.

The Hawks (19-3, 10-0 America East) saw four players reach double figure scoring including the reigning America East Player of the Week Diana Delva. The senior was 7-8 from the floor to score 17 points while also snatching five rebounds. Senior Erica Beverly poured in 13 points on 6-7 shooting and grabbed six rebounds while tallying four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Hartford freshman Ruthann Doherty built a quick 4-0 lead on a jumper and nifty layup in the first three minutes. When 10 minutes had finally elapsed, the Hawks had already built a 26-10 lead behind three 3-pointers between guards Daphne Elliott and Jenna Peterson and some low-post scoring from Delva and Beverly.

“We really focused on coming out strong and playing intense defense,” said Peterson, who scored eight points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds. “We know UMBC is a talented offensive team and we really wanted to disrupt them from the beginning of the game.”

Hartford did just that, holding UMBC to 1-8 shooting from three and forcing nine turnovers in the first half while holding a 48-19 lead at the break.

The Hawks stormed out of the locker-room to go on a 10-0 run and built their lead to 39 on a low-post jumper from Delva with 14:32 left in the game. The Hawks would follow this up with another 11-0 run minutes later, seeing their largest lead over any opponent of the season of 47 points when sophomore guard Ilicia Mathis drilled in a 3-pointer with 6:29 remaining to take 76-29 lead.
It was freshman Alex Hall’s assist to Amanda Weaver in the closing minute of the game that broke the school assist record. Weaver caught a pass from Hall on the high right side of the three-point line 23 feet away from the hoop before staring down her defender and draining the 3-pointer.

Hall and starting point guard Jackie Smith combined for 14 assists. Doherty finished with 10 points and three assists while freshman Daphne Elliott came off of the bench to make five 3-pointers while scoring 15 points.

“We have such a deep rotation that it really allows us to play with full energy when we are on the court,” added Peterson of Hartford’s lineup which currently has nine players averaging over 15 minutes per game. “UMBC on the other hand had a really short rotation so we were really looking to push the ball in transition on them throughout the whole game.”

UMBC (9-13, 3-6 AE) was led by senior guard Carlee Cassidy who scored 13 points on 5-16 shooting. The first meeting between the two teams wasn’t as lopsided, as Hartford overcame a late second-half deficit to escape with a 69-66 win on the road back in January.

Hartford’s stifling defense leads the America East in opponents’ field goal percentage at 35 percent while holding teams to just 53 points per game. The Hawks have held their previous six opponents to 45 points or fewer.
The first place Hawks play three out of their next four games on their home court, where they are yet to lose this season. They host the New Hampshire Wildcats, currently in eighth place, this Saturday at 4 p.m.