Albany, N.Y. - Despite 13 points apiece by Ebone Henry and Cassandra Callaway, UAlbany dropped a 65-57 decision to Hartford in America East Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes dropped to 13-9 overall, with a 7-2 league record, and split the regular-season series with the Hawks, after winning on the road earlier in the month.
The teams played a tight start to the game, with the two squads exchanging the lead several times over the first minutes of play. A layup by Megan Craig gave UAlbany a 10-6 lead with 12:44 left to play in the first, but a 3-pointer by Daphne Elliott cut the lead to one a minute later. The Great Danes built up their largest lead of the half, 17-10, on two free throws by Callaway, who went 6-for-6 from the line in the game, at 9:22. However Hartford rallied back to take a two-point advantage on a layup by Ruthanne Doherty, followed by another trey from Elliott, with 4:28 left to play.
Lindsey Lowrie responded on the other end of the floor for UAlbany, nailing a trey to keep UAlbany ahead. The Hawks held onto a one-point advantage after Elliott went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, but a conventional 3-point play by Amber Bepko gave Hartford a 25-23 lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the half. Keyokah Mars-Garrick handed out an assist to Doherty that put the Hawks up four, and nailed two free throws after Callaway cut the lead back to two with under a minute to go. Callaway attempted to start a late-half rally for the Great Danes with a long-range shot, but Cherelle Moore hit a jumper that sent Hartford to the locker room with a 33-30 advantage.
The Hawks came out of halftime firing, building up a nine-point lead, 45-36, on a layup by Elliott with 15:27 on the clock. UAlbany cut the lead back to three with a 6-0 run, as Callaway capped the rally with a layup at 14:07. The Great Danes continued to fight, pulling within two, 47-45, on a jumper by Julie Forster with just over 12 minutes to play. However, Hartford pulled away again, getting up by nine on two free throws and a jumper by Bepko, which put the Hawks up, 55-46, with 9:00 on the clock.
UAlbany got the final field goal of the game, a layup by Forster at 5:33, which cut the Great Danes' deficit to seven, 59-52. Both teams scored the remainder of their points from the free throw line. UAlbany went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final minutes, while Hartford connected on 6-of-6 shots, including a 4-for-4 performance from Nikkia Smith, who hit the last shots of the game with 19 seconds on the clock.
Hartford (13-10, AE 4-5), which shot 48.9 percent (22-45) from the floor, was led by Elliott with 17 points and six assists. Doherty finished with 13 points and a team-high five rebounds, while Smith and Bepko both contributed 10 points for the Hawks.
Henry grabbed a team-best eight boards for UAlbany, while Callaway added four rebounds and three steals. The Great Danes shot 44.2 percent (19-43) and out-rebounded the Hawks, 31-25.
UAlbany will return to action on Wednesday, visiting UMBC at 7 p.m.
