WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Four University of Hartford women's basketball players scored postseason accolades on Thursday during the America East Women's Basketball Banquet. Highlighting the group was sophomore Amber Bepko and senior Nikkia Smith who were both named to the America East Season Team All-Conference.
Joining Bepko and Smith in earning All-Conference distinction was redshirt freshman Katie Roth who was named to the All-Rookie team and senior Alex Hall who was named to the America East All-Academic Team for the second-straight year. Hall also received the first ever SEFCU Postgraduate Scholarship, awarding her $10,000 to pursue a graduate degree in her field of study.
The honor for Smith is her second All-Conference accolade, following up Third-Team honors as a junior. The post player is currently second on the team averaging 10.6 points-per-game, while leading the way in rebounding with 5.4 rebounds-per-contest. Smith finished 17 games in double figures, including her first career double doubles against New Hampshire and UMBC.
In addition to leading the team in rebounding and second overall in points, she is second on the team and seventh in the league in field goal percentage (44.8%, 120-of-268) and she leads the Hawks and the America East in free throw percentage making 78.8 percent of her attempts (67-of-85).
Bepko enters the 2013 America East Championship presented by SEFCU as the Hawks leading scorer at 10.7 ppg. The sophomore guard has finished 12 games in double figures, including back-to-back 20 point performances, the latter of which was a career-high 21 against Maine. Bepko is also the Hawks leading three point threat, currently leading the team and sixth in the America East connecting on 35.4 percent from beyond the arc (40-of-113).
Despite missing seven games due to injure, Bepko is also a defensive threat for Hartford, currently leading the team with 51 steals, including a season high seven in the regular season finale against Vermont.
Roth enters the championship as the sixth leading scorer for the Hawks at 4.9 points-per-game. The rookie post has played in all 29 games and started in 15. She is also third on the team in rebounding at 4.1 rebounds-per-game and set a career-high with 17 points against UMass on November 21, 2012.
Hall is one of two repeat members of the five-person All-Academic Team and represents the second highest grade point average in 2013 with a 3.91 combined GPA as a management major in the Barney School of Business. On the court, Hall is fifth on the team in scoring at 5.8 ppg. In addition to earning All-Academic accolades last season, Hall was also named to a Division I-AAA Scholar Athlete.
Hartford will begin the quest for its sixth America East Championship on Friday at 12:00 p.m. when they take on the seventh seeded Binghamton Bearcats at SEFCU Arena on the campus of the University at Albany. If Hartford were to advance on Friday, the Hawks would face the winner of UMBC versus Vermont on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
