Women's Basketball Falls to No. 24 Hartford's Second-Half Rally, 63-57, on Senior Night

Albany, N.Y. - Diana Delva netted 15 of her game-high 22 points in the second half and converted 10 of her 11 free throws as Hartford, ranked 24th nationally by the Associated Press and 23rd by ESPN/USA Today, escaped with a narrow 63-57 victory over UAlbany on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at SEFCU Arena. In a tight contest which featured 10 ties and seven lead changes, the Hawks pulled away at the very end to extend their winning streak to a school-record 17 games and remained unbeaten in America East Conference play.

UAlbany (10-18, AE 3-12), which had a 29-27 advantage at recess, extended its lead to seven points on two occasions and led 40-33 when Julie Forster hit a running jumper in the paint with 16:31 to play. Hartford, which is leading the league in scoring defense for the sixth straight season, climbed back and went on an 11-0 run over the next five minutes. Ilicia Mathis had five points during the stretch, which she capped by sinking a 3-pointer.

The Great Danes rallied to tie the score up several times and eventually took a 52-50 lead when Charity Iromuanya drew attention from several Hartford defenders and found Tabitha Makopondo for a wide open layup on the right block with 6:24 on the clock. Iromuanya brought the Great Danes within one at 55-54 when she hit a jumper from the left corner, but the Hawks ended the half by scoring 13 of the game's final 18 points.

With the hosts down by four, Iromuanya missed a 3-point attempt from the right wing with 21 seconds left. Beverly canned two free throws seven seconds later to put the game out of reach.

"Compared to the first time we played them (when we lost by 23 points), I thought the effort was there today and that we played a lot smarter," said Iromuanya, who was recognized for her contributions to the program prior to the contest. "We also played with a lot more confidence. To play the way we did against a nationally-ranked team makes us believe that we can compete with anybody in this conference."

The Great Danes jumped out to a quick 6-2 advantage and did not allow the Hawks to make a field goal until Delva, the Hawks' player of the game, hit a layup with 14:54 remaining in the first half. Hartford extended its lead to eight at 24-16 with under five minutes to play on a Beverly layup, but UAlbany came back with a big run to end the stanza. Felicia Johnson poured in seven points on three field goals, and Iromuanya hit a fadeaway from the right corner with 1:12 on the clock to give the Great Danes a two-point lead at recess.

"We did the same thing against Vermont, and they were ranked in the top 25 at one point this season," said head coach Trina Patterson, whose team still has a chance to be seeded as high as seventh in the conference tournament if it can beat Maine on Saturday, Feb. 27, in its regular season finale. "This let's me know that our team does not have any fear. I thought our guard play (Johnson, Iromuanya and Ebone Henry) was better than Hartford's tonight. I believe the teams with good guard play going into tournaments are the teams that can do really well."

Johnson led UAlbany with 18 points and four assists, while Iromuanya, the team's player of the game, had 11 points, six rebounds and three steals. Henry, the team's third player who scored in double figures, contributed 14 points. Delva added seven rebounds and three blocks to her game-high point total for Hartford (24-3, AE 15-0). Beverly finished with a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. She also redirected three shots.

Paw Prints: UAlbany was hosting a nationally-ranked opponent at SEFCU Arena for the second time in program history ... The Great Danes previously fell to #18 Mississippi State by a 62-57 score on Dec. 27, 2000 ... Charity Iromuanya, the team captain and lone senior, moved up to seventh on the program's all-time list for career steals after swiping three balls in her final home game ... She now has 209 in her career ... Ebone Henry is on the verge of breaking the freshman single-season scoring mark ... The swing player has 305 points and needs 12 more to break Becky Ayers' standard, which was registered during the 2001-02 campaign.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information