Washington, DC - The University of Hartford women's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the George Washington Thanksgiving Classic with a 46-39 win over the Liberty Lady Flames, despite shooting 32 percent for the game. Hartford was led by junior forward Erica Beverly who finished with her second double double of the season, 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Beverly finished the game shooting 4-of-9 from the field while also grabbing three steals and two assists. Also leading the Hawks was junior forward Diana Delva and senior guard MaryLynne Schaefer with nine points each. Delva finished the game connecting on 4-of-8 to lead the team. As a team, the Hawks connected on 18-of-55 from the field. The Hawks hit just 8-of-32 in the first half (.250) and turned that into 44 percent in the second half on 10-of-23.
“I am really happy with today's win over a program that has won the Big South Championship eight of the last 10 years,” said head coach Jennifer Rizzotti. “Although we didn't shoot the ball well, I was happy with our execution and defense today.”
The Hawks defense continued to shine as Hartford forced Liberty into 27 turnovers and held the Lady Flames to 16-of-44 from the field, 36 percent. Liberty was led by Brittany Campbell who came off the bench to score 11 points. The Lady Flames did win the battle of the board with a 37-32 advantage.
The first half saw five ties and two lead changes with the Lady Flames taking a narrow 22-20 advantage into the break. Liberty opened the game scoring the first four points, before Schaefer put the Hawks on the board for the first time with a three pointer. Liberty took its largest advantage at five points, 8-3, after the Hawks opened the game shooting 1-10 form the field.
The Hawks battled to take their first lead, using an 8-0 lead to pull ahead 16-10 with 6:32 to play in the first half. The run included back-to-back Beverly layups off of feeds from Jackie Smith, both coming off of Liberty turnovers. Liberty answered the Hawks run with one of their own, 6-0, tying the score at 16 with just over five minutes to play in the half. The score would knot two additional times before the break with Liberty scoring the final two points of the half to take the minimal advantage into the locker room.
Hartford came out of the break and scored 10-straight to pull ahead by eight, 30-22, with 12:52 to play in the game. The Liberty drought featured six missed baskets and six turnovers. The Lady Flames answered the Hawks run by taking a one-point advantage, 31-30, scoring nine straight. The tie was the seventh of the game.
After trading baskets, the Hawks took a six point advantage, 39-33, one they wouldn't relinquish. Hartford extended that lead to as much as 10, 45-35 with 1:25 to play. Liberty would score the final four points of the game.
Hartford advances to the championship game and will take on the winner of the South Alabama versus George Washington game at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday.
