After a rocky season last year, the Hawks Women’s basketball team looks to turn things around and get back to their winning tradition.
With a lot of young talent and a limitless ceiling, the women are ready to showcase their resurgence this season.
The Hawks first contest of the season was at home against Cornell on Nov. 13, 2015.
Both teams came out the gate with a slow start, but it would be Hartford who gained the upper hand as they lead an 8-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter Cornell would equal out the scoring with Hartford as they pushed an 18-16 run against the Hawks.
Both teams would head into the half tied at 24.
Juniors Deanna Mayza and La’Trice Hall, along with sophomore forward Darby Lee, helped set the pace for the Hawks in the first half.
Coming into the second half, Cornell led a 16-14 surge to take the lead 40-38 at the end of the third quarter. Junior Katelyn Skinner helped close the gap for the Hawks as she sank a three pointer to bring the Hawks within 1 point.
Down only two points by the end of the third, the Hawks were still in position to take over the game.
The fourth quarter opened up, and Mayza opened up scoring with a three pointer, giving the Hawks their first lead of the second half at 41-40.
Hall and junior Alyssa Reaves helped regulate the coring for the Hawks in the final quarter as they both sank 10 footers as time came winding down.
Cornell came back to tie the game up, but it would be Mayza, who sank up the game winning triple against Cornell last year, to repeat the same feat again.
Mayza drained a three pointer with just 10 seconds left on the clock to propel the Hawks to a 53-50 victory over Cornell, and their first win of the season.
Mayza finished the game with a high of 17, while Lee contributed with 10 and seven rebounds. Hall also made solid contributions as she logged seven points, four assists, and seven rebounds for the Hawks.
The Hawks would look to add another win to their record as they traveled to Fairfield, CT to face the Pioneers of Sacred Heart.
The first quarter was underway and Sacred Heart made the first strike as they converted an easy layup.
Hartford would then go on a 9-0 run, driven by four different Hawks.
The Hawks would then go cold and miss two of their 11 shots, clearing a path for Sacred Heart to go on a 9-0 run of their own to gain a two point lead.
The second quarter gave the Hawks a little bit of pace as Katelyn Skinner sank a three to put the Hawks up by two.
The Pioneers would go on another run, followed by the Hawks going back and forth with buckets, led by Mayza, ultimately giving the Hawks the one point advantage at the half, 28-27.
The second half kicked off and the Hawks held their own against the Pioneers. Sacred Heart would then send an array of three pointers at the Hawks, sinking three within two minutes.
Sacred Heart was up 42-38, until Skinner netted a three pointer of her own and set up and 8-0 run for the Hawks.
This led the Hawks to close out the third quarter, up by one at 47-46. The fourth quarter was exactly what the Hawks needed as they came out storming to a 10-2 run, pushing the lead up to nine points.
Sacred Heart fought their way back into the game, trailing only by five with two minutes left in the game.
Mayza sent home a layup that would push the Hawks back up to seven points, with only 56 second left.
Sacred Heart created a string of plays to cut the deficit to only two after a three point shot and go-ahead layup off a steal, two seconds later.
The time slowly wore down as the Hawks were sent to the free-throw line, where Mayza converted on both shots.
Sacred Heart would answer with another layup with just 6.4 on the clock, to trail only by two, before sending Mayza to the line again where she converted two more free throws.
The Hawks were up by four, when Sacred Heart heaved a last second three-point attempt that banked in.
However, this was not enough as the Hawks claimed the game 68-67, gaining their second consecutive win.
Three Hawks finished in double digit scoring as Mayza led the game with 19 points and six assists and Reaves finished with 13 points.
Hall recorded her first career double-double, at 13 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Hawks win the second-chance scoring battle.
The Hawks will look to add a third consecutive win as they face Quinnipiac on Thurs. Nov. 19, 2015 at 11a.m which would be a great start to the women’s basketball season.