Women’s Basketball Falls to America East Conference-Leader Hartford, 63-55

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

West Hartford, Conn. – Senior Danielle Hood scored 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Hartford to a 63-55 win over UAlbany in America East Conference women’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Chase Arena.

Hartford (15-4, AE 5-1), the coaches’ preseason selection to win the conference, used back-to-back three-pointers from Hood and MaryLynne Schaefer to open the second half to pull away from the Great Danes. Hood, a 6-foot-1 center who made 6-of-10 from the field and all seven of her free throw attempts, connected on a layup with 8:22 remaining in the second half as Hartford built its largest lead at 51-37.

UAlbany (4-14, AE 2-3) scored the game’s next eight points to close with six at the 5:36 mark on Sherri Mikus’ jump shot in the paint. Mary Silvia followed with a basket and Diana Delva converted layups on consecutive possessions as Hartford pushed the lead back to 57-45 two minutes later.

Sophomore TaNika Thrower, a 5-foot-6 guard, tallied seven of her team’s final 10 points to deliver the final score. Thrower tallied 17 points, one off her season-high, and was the lone Great Dane in double figures. She added six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

"Our goal was to play hard, with intensity, and don't play softly,” said UAlbany head coach Trina Patterson, whose team dropped its third straight conference game after starting league play with a pair of wins. “We played well, especially in the second half. We knew they were post-dominant, and we had a hard time stopping (Danielle) Hood. Their offensive rebounds hurt us."

Schaefer and Erica Beverly each recorded 10 points to join Hood in twin figures for the Hawks, who remained tied atop the America East standings with Vermont. Delva registered a game-high 12 rebounds, including six off the offensive glass, to go along with nine points in 20 minutes off the bench.

Hartford jumped out to a 17-9 lead midway through the opening half on Delva’s layup. The Great Danes responded with 14 of the game’s next 23 points to close within three at 26-23 with 3:58 remaining in the stanza on a Kirsten Peterson layup. Thrower keyed the run by hitting a three-pointer and a jump shot. The Hawks closed out the half with a stretch of seven straight points to go into intermission with a 33-24 advantage. Hood tallied four of her 12 first half points in that span.