the Informer

Photo courtesy of Adam Manison

The University of Hartford women’s basketball team did it again on Saturday afternoon Jan. 30, and notched their 11th straight win in a row, remaining perfect in the American East Conference. The Hawks took on the Stony Brook Seawolves in New York and came out on top with a final score of 60-42.
Sinking the first bucket of the game, Diana Delva gave the Hawks the advantage and the permanent lead for the entirety of the game. Erica Beverly sunk the next two giving Hartford the 4-0 lead. An intense opening stanza, Stony Brook finally got on the board during the third minute after missing multiple shots.

On a foul by Stony Brook, Delva shot two free throws and sunk both putting Hartford up by four. With a quick basket by the Seawolves the Hawks then went on the offensive scoring the next three buckets including a 3-pointer by Jackie Smith, the first of her six perfect shots of the night. Smith went on to finish the game tying the school record for most 3-pointers scored in a game.
With the biggest lead in the first half of nine coming off of a layup by Ilicia Mathis, the Hawks managed to maintain the advantage for the remainder of the first half. However, Stony Brook came within two off of a steal by Seawolf Kirsten Jeter with two minutes to go. Hartford quickly countered and finished the first half with a five-point lead off a smooth jumper by Delva.

Using the first half momentum to their advantage, the Hawks scored first in the second half on a 3-pointer by Smith. Stony Brook came right back and sunk a three shot by Jeter but, never missing a beat, Smith came right back and sunk another three-pointer. After a foul by Beverely that gave the Seawolves two more, Hartford again ran the offense scoring the next three buckets that put them up by 13 with a spectacular three-pointer by Alex Hall.

Allowing two more free throws, the Hawks were up by 11 when the next two buckets came off of three-pointers by Smith, who racked up a career-high 19 points on the night. On fire the entire night, Smith’s impressive maneuvers put Hartford up by 18 halfway through the final half.

After a free throw by Stony Brook the Hawks took to the court again scoring the next three buckets extending the lead to 50-29 with 7:50 to go in regulation. In an intense back and forth battle for the remainder of the game Misha Horsey of Stony Brook hit the final bucket with 50 seconds to go solidifying the final score of 60-42 as the final seconds expired.

In total the Hartford Hawks shot 47.6 percent from the field, which included 66.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The women’s basketball team returned home Tuesday night to faceoff against the UMBC Retrievers. To read what happened, turn to page 16.

Photo courtesy of Adam Manison