Women's Basketball Drops A-East Contest to First-Place Hartford; Henry Has Career Day

West Hartford, Conn. - Erica Beverly registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Diana Delva contributed 16 points to go along with nine boards in leading Hartford to a 59-36 win over UAlbany before 1,642 fans at Chase Arena on Sunday, Jan. 24. The game was televised live on the Connecticut Sports Network.

UAlbany (7-12, AE 0-6), which trailed 35-18 at halftime, scored three of the first four points to start the second period on a driving jumper and free throw by Ebone Henry. However, Hartford rattled off 15 unanswered to take a commanding 31-point advantage at 52-21 midway through the frame. Daphne Elliott intercepted a pass at the top of the key and went in for a fastbreak layup to extend the Hawks' lead to 20 for the first time at the 16:24 mark, while Beverly, who was named the team's player of the game, added six during the stretch.

UAlbany stepped up its defensive effort by not allowing the hosts to hit a field goal for 8:28. Two shots by Iromuanya from the free throw line sliced the Hawk lead to 17 with 3:02 left to play, but the deficit proved to be too large for the Great Danes to overcome. Jackie Smith drained a jumper and set up Amanda Weaver's three-point field goal from the left wing before the final horn sounded, as the Hawks ended the afternoon as the only America East team still unbeaten in conference play.

"Hartford does a great job of denying passes and with their help-side defense," said head coach Trina Patterson, whose squad was held to its lowest scoring output and field goal percentage (21.8 percent) this season against the league's top-ranked defense. "They always play very physical and also do a great job of blocking shots with Erica (Beverly) as their anchor. Despite {the outcome}, I was very pleased with our effort at the end when we forced six turnovers in a row with our energy. We also finished with 18 offensive rebounds."

Hartford (16-3, AE 7-0), which is currently leading the league in scoring defense for the sixth straight season, scored the first 11 points while keeping the Great Danes off the scoreboard for over five minutes to start the game. However, UAlbany scored eight of the next nine to slash the deficit to just four points at 12-8. Henry, who had started the past seven games, came off the bench to spark the run by driving through traffic and making a jumper at 14:36 and converting two free throws minutes later.

The Hawks recovered by continuously feeding the ball down low to Delva, a two-time all-conference selection, on the post to regain their double-digit lead for good. The senior scored 11 of Hartford's next 24 points to close out the stanza, which ended with Smith's three-point shot that beat the buzzer.

Henry, who was named UAlbany's player of the game, matched her career high with 16 points and also added six rebounds and a career-best six steals. Adrienne Jones contributed a season-high seven points and finished with a career-high three steals off the bench.

Smith provided the spark in Hartford's backcourt to complement the post play of Beverly and Delva, a pair of preseason all-conference selections. The junior guard contributed eight points and a game-high five assists.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information