Albany, N.Y. ? Erica Beverly scored 14 points to lead four Hawks in double figures, propeling Hartford to an 83-51 victory over UAlbany in an America East Conference women's basketball contest on Saturday, Feb. 21. In UAlbany's Pink Zone game, Hartford's offense exploded for 51 points in the second half to post its 11th conference victory in 12 tries.

            After Kim Clements netted the initial basket, the Great Danes were able to keep it a one-possession game through most of the first half. A good jumper by Katie Kelley put Hartford (16-9 AE 11-1) up by double figures for the first time, 28-18, with 3:44 remaining in the first stanza. The lead grew to 14 before two free throws by Clements made it 32-20 at recess.

            Hartford, which scored 47 points in the second half when the teams met at Chase Arena earlier this year, extended its lead to 22 with 12:57 left in regulation when Diana Delva converted a jump shot. Britney McGee, who set career highs for points and rebounds, made her best effort to mount any kind of a comeback by netting 19 of her 21 points in the final 20 minutes. However, the Great Danes could not respond on the defensive end and had to settle for the 32-point defeat.

            In addition to netting a game high for points, McGee led all players from both sides with eight rebounds to pace UAlbany (3-22, AE 1-11). She also shot 5-for-8 from behind the arc. Clements matched a career high with 10 points.

            In addition to Beverly, Hartford's Ilicia Mathis, Lisa Etienne and Kelley all reached double figures in scoring. Mathis and Etienne had 11 each, while Kelley finished with 10 of Hartford's 35 bench points. Mathis also contributed seven rebounds.

            “This was a very good Hartford team,” said head coach Trina Patterson, whose club will host UMBC on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. “They beat Duke, so we knew that they were good. If it was not for Britney McGee, who put on a show offensively in the second half, the final score could have been a lot worse.”

            For the game, Hartford outshot UAlbany from the floor, 53.4 percent (31-58) to 32.7 percent (17-52) and the free throw line, 86.7 percent to 75 percent (12-16). The Hawks also bettered the Great Danes from three-point range, 61.5 percent (8-13), which included 8-for-9 shooting in the second half, to 33.3 percent (5-15).