Honolulu, HI ? The University of Hartford women's basketball team will bring back to West Hartford, CT a championship trophy from the 29th annual Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic with a 70-53 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday evening. The Hawks were led by tournament MVP Danielle Hood who finished with 19 points. Hartford is now 6-1 on the season.
“Obviously I am ecstatic about the win and how much we've progressed over the last four games,” said head coach Jennifer Rizzotti. “This road trip has been a good test of our maturity and I am very pleased with how we responded. We hope to carry this momentum into the rest of our non-conference schedule so that we can put ourselves in the best position to win another championship.”
Hood was also named to the All-Tournament team along with sophomore Diana Delva and MaryLynne Schaefer. “Danielle is playing the best basketball of her career, she is confident, poised and aggressive, we really can't ask anything more of her,” continued the head coach. Schaefer finished the championship game with 17 points, while Delva added 12.
The Hawks held the Cavaliers to 29.4 percent shooting in the second half, limiting them to just 21 points in the final 20 minutes. Hartford also forced 23 turnovers on Virginia. Hartford finished the game shooting 41.5 percent from the field with hood going 8-of-17 and Schaefer 6-of-11, including 4-of-6 from three point range.
The teams finished in a dead heat in the rebound category with 40 a piece. Hartford was led by Erica Beverly who finished with eight boards, she also added eight points. Delva also added seven rebounds to her tally.
The Hawks will return to Hartford on Tuesday afternoon and will next play at the University of Massachusetts on Saturday, December 1 at 2:00 p.m.
