For the second time in as many years the University of Hartford will take on Boston University in the America East title game. The No. 1 Hawks held No. 4 Binghamton to only 15 field goals, tying a conference tournament semifinal record, on their way to a 57-46 victory in semifinal action of the 2006 Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Women's Basketball Championship.
Hawks senior guard Erika Messam led all scorers with 13 points and also contributed with four assists, while senior Rachel Laws led the Bearcats in scoring with 12 points in her final collegiate contest.
Binghamton played a sound first half staying right with the heavily-favored Hawks and trailed by only one point at 20-19 with 5:10 remaining in the first half. Then six-foot-one freshman forward Katie Kelley provided a late half flurry off the bench. Kelley connected on a pair of turnaround jump shots and nailed a long 19-foot jumper with four seconds left in the half. Kelley’s quick surge put the Hawks up 26-19 going into the half.
The Hawks played unyielding defense in the second half holding the Bearcats to only 29 percent from the field all while holding Binghamton’s leading scorer Laws to only four second half points. Hartford’s relentless defense resulted in 14 Binghamton turnovers, as the Hawks cashed in scoring 13 points off turnovers.
Sharp-shooting Marylynne Schaeffer contributed with two big three-pointers in the second half for Hartford. However, the Hawks only shot 25 percent from beyond the arc in the game.
Hartford advances to the America East championship to take on last year’s runner up the Boston University Terriers. The Terriers squeaked out a close overtime win over Stony Brook in the semifinals to earn their fourth-consecutive trip to the conference finals. The championship will take place tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion.
Story by: Rob Yutkins
VISITORS: Binghamton
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
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14 Jen Haubrich........ * 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 8 0 1 0 1 22
20 Jen Blues........... * 1 6 0 3 0 0 1 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 0 30
22 Rachel Laws......... * 5 10 0 1 2 4 1 6 7 4 12 3 0 1 3 30
23 Shea Kenny.......... * 0 5 0 4 0 0 0 4 4 4 0 2 3 0 0 30
32 Laine Kurpniece..... * 0 2 0 0 6 6 0 0 0 3 6 1 2 1 0 17
11 Laura Sario......... 3 9 1 2 4 4 1 2 3 0 11 2 0 1 0 24
15 Juta Jahilo......... 1 5 0 0 2 2 2 5 7 2 4 0 3 0 0 22
21 Rebecka Lindgren.... 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 11
31 Brianna Thompson.... 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 11
33 Laura Franceski..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
TM TEAM................ 4 1 5 2
Totals.............. 15 49 2 12 14 16 9 24 33 21 46 9 14 4 4 200
TOTAL FG%: .306 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%: .167 REBOUNDS
F Throw %: .875 0
HOME TEAM: Hartford
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
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03 Danielle Wexler..... * 2 6 0 4 2 2 1 5 6 0 6 2 0 1 1 31
12 Erika Messam........ * 5 12 1 4 2 5 1 1 2 0 13 4 2 0 2 32
14 Ikea Witt........... * 0 4 0 0 3 4 1 1 2 4 3 1 1 0 1 26
24 Danielle Hood....... * 3 6 0 0 2 3 2 2 4 3 8 1 1 1 0 14
32 Erica Beverly....... * 4 5 0 0 3 6 1 10 11 3 11 0 3 1 0 31
04 Jamie McCabe........ 1 5 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 8
10 Courtney Gomez...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
21 Jenna Gale.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
33 Marylynne Schaefer.. 2 5 2 5 0 0 0 1 1 0 6 1 1 0 0 18
44 Katie Kelley........ 3 4 0 0 1 4 0 5 5 2 7 0 0 0 1 25
54 Jessica Clark....... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7
TM TEAM................ 4 1 5 2
Totals.............. 20 48 4 16 13 24 11 27 38 14 57 10 11 3 6 200
TOTAL FG%: .417 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%: .250 REBOUNDS
F Throw %: .542 4
Date: 3/11/06 Site: Chase Arena (West Hartford, CT) Attendance: 1921
Officials: Bonita Spence; Joanna Aldrich; John Orminski;
Technical fouls: Binghamton-None. Hartford-None.
Score by Periods 1 2 Total
Binghamton.......... 19 27 - 46
Hartford............ 26 31 - 57