University of Hartford Dominates BYU, 60-43

By Melissa Sterry: SPM Connecticut Writer
Posted Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Lisa Etienne paced the Hartford Hawks buy scoring a team-high 13 points - Photo is Couretsy of the Hawks athletic website.

West Hartford, CT - The University of Hartford Hawks (4-3) are having an up and down season. Having previously lost a close back-and-forth game to Seton Hall this past Thursday, they faced the 23rd-ranked Brigham Young University Cougars (4-2) on Saturday. The Hawks are yet to break into the top 25 rankings.

Hartford came out fired up, won the tip, and started a defensive battle that would last for the entire first half. In the final 2 minutes before the break BYU came out of its slumber to chip away at Hartford's lead, but the Hawks managed to stave off the Cougars to end the half up 29-25.

The Hawks’ sophomore guard MaryLynne Schaefer opened the second half with a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 7 as Hartford continued to shut down BYU’s shooters. Sophomore guard Lisa Etienne added a 3 of her own, taking the lead to 12. With a basket from senior guard Ikea Witt the Hawks had put together a 10-point run, forcing a BYU time-out. Hartford was starting to pull away, 39-25.

BYU came out of their time-out breaking their scoring drought with a trey from Haley Hall, a freshman guard, but Hartford’s defense caused stop after stop. The Hawks opened up their passing to find the free shot and by the 7:50 mark were up by 18, by the score of 52-34.

Coach Jen Rizzotti’s team did not let up the pressure; the younger Hartford bench players did not sub-in until the Hawks were up by 20, with less than 2 minutes left. The final score was 60-43.

One issue of concern for the Hawks -- at 5:44 last year’s America East Rookie of the Year forward Erica Beverly became entangled with a BYU player while rebounding and fell to the floor. Coach Rizzotti rushed to her fallen player, waving for the medical staff as Beverly screamed, “My knee!” Beverly was helped off the court and will undergo an MRI sometime tonight or tomorrow.

When asked about the inconsistent season the Hawks have had so far, Rizzotti replied, “That’s the story of us this season. We have to find away to string a couple victories together.”

“I think we took a big step forward in our season” said red-shirted sophomore Lisa Etienne in a post-game interview. “We have a lot to look forward to when conference time comes.”

“We can be as good as we want to be. It’s all up to us how we play. We were very focused for this game from beginning to end.” added Witt, who scored her 1,000th career point on her first field goal of the game.

Witt ended with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Etienne added 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals to lead the Hawks’ efforts. Beverly had 12 points and 4 rebounds before leaving the game. Hartford shot 45% from the floor.

Dani Wright was the only BYU player in double figures with 16 points and 8 rebounds. She was a perfect 7-7 from the field.

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