The University of Hartford women's basketball team won the 2006 Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Women's Basketball Championship, 75-56, over Boston University on Sunday at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion.
The Hawks have now won the last two conference championships and three in the last five seasons. Senior Erika Messam was named Most Outstanding Player of the championship and joined classmate Danielle Wexler and freshman Erica Beverly on the All-Championship Team.
Messam, who was last year's MOP after hitting the game-winning shot, finished with 17 points, five assists and four rebounds. Jesyka Burks-Wiley led Boston U. with 17 points and 10 rebounds and was named to the All-Championship Team along with Binghamton University's Rachel Laws.
Hartford earned the conference's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Women's Basketball Championship and will find out who, when and where it will play on Monday night at 7 p.m. Fans, alumni and students are invited to join the team as they watch ESPN's selection show live in the intramural gym in the Reich Family Pavilion (doors open at 6 p.m.).
The Hawks opened the game with an offensive onslaught, firing up the crowd of 2,634. Sophomore Danielle Hood missed the first shot of the contest, though Hartford would make its next 10 shots to put Boston U. in an early hole. Wexler got the ball rolling with a three-pointer for the game's first points, and junior Ikea Witt and Messam followed with baskets to put Hartford up 7-3.
BU got as close as 9-8 but couldn't keep up with the Hawks' hot shooting. Hartford used a 15-3 run over the next three minutes to pull away, with Wexler, Messam, and Witt providing the offense. Messam scored five points during the stretch while Wexler added a pair of treys, the last of which prompted Boston U. to call a timeout with 13:40 remaining with Hartford up 24-11.
After the Terriers cut the deficit back to single digits at 25-17 with 11:17 to go in the half, the Hawks answered with a 13-3 run to pull away for good. Hartford, which shot 62 percent (18-of-29) for the opening half and made six three-pointers, took a 43-26 lead into the locker room at the break. Boston U. shot just 33 percent.
While Hartford's offense cooled off a bit in the second stanza, its defense held steady. The Hawks never let their lead dip below double digits and limited the Terriers to just 34-percent shooting. The rematch of last year's championship game was much different in the final moments. While the 2005 title game came down to the final shot, this year the Hawks held a 20-point lead as the final minute ticked off the clock.
Wexler finished with a game-high 18 points, all of which came on 6-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. She also added five rebounds and five assists. Hood chipped in with 14 points and three assists while Beverly finished with eight points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Rachael Vanderwal (13 points) and Katie Meinhardt (10 points) also finished in double figures for the Terriers, who shot 34 percent for the game.
VISITORS: Boston University
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00 Kasey Devine........ * 1 7 0 0 3 4 2 5 7 4 5 0 0 0 1 35
12 Christine Kinneary.. * 1 6 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 16
14 Cheri Raffo......... * 0 7 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 3 5 0 0 37
22 Rachael Vanderwal... * 5 15 0 3 3 3 2 2 4 2 13 1 1 0 1 36
32 Jesyka Burks-Wiley.. * 7 11 1 1 2 3 4 6 10 4 17 0 2 0 1 29
02 Erica Kovach........ 3 6 2 3 1 1 0 3 3 0 9 0 1 0 1 14
11 Corinne Jean........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
13 Katie Meinhardt..... 4 10 0 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 10 1 3 0 0 31
TM TEAM................ 3 4 7 1
Totals.............. 21 62 3 13 11 13 14 23 37 15 56 6 13 0 5 200
TOTAL FG%: .339 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%: .231 REBOUNDS
F Throw %: .846 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
03 Danielle Wexler..... * 6 9 6 9 0 0 1 4 5 3 18 5 1 1 0 37
12 Erika Messam........ * 7 16 1 4 2 2 0 4 4 1 17 5 1 0 4 28
14 Ikea Witt........... * 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 8 3 2 1 0 34
24 Danielle Hood....... * 6 9 0 0 2 3 1 1 2 2 14 3 1 0 0 20
32 Erica Beverly....... * 3 9 0 0 2 5 2 9 11 2 8 2 4 2 0 26
10 Courtney Gomez...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4
15 Kate DiDonato....... 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1
21 Jenna Gale.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
33 Marylynne Schaefer.. 1 4 1 4 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 2 0 0 0 15
44 Katie Kelley........ 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 1 1 18
54 Jessica Clark....... 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 2 5 1 3 0 0 0 0 15
TM TEAM................ 1 1 1
Totals.............. 29 57 9 19 8 12 7 29 36 11 75 21 12 5 5 200
TOTAL FG%: .509 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%: .474 REBOUNDS
F Throw %: .667 2
Date: 3/12/06 Site: Chase Arena (West Hartford, CT) Attendance: 2634
Officials: Kathy Lynch; Bonita Spence; Joanne Aldrich;
Technical fouls: Boston University-None. Hartford-None.
Score by Periods 1 2 Total
Boston University... 26 30 - 56
Hartford............ 43 32 - 75