Courtesy of Associated Press
When the buzzer sounded, Hartford's players might as well have been celebrating a national title instead of an opening-round win. First-time NCAA Tournament victories can have that effect — especially for a No. 11 seed.
Danielle Hood scored 20 points and outplayed Atlantic 10 player of the year Candice Dupree as Hartford upset sixth-seeded Temple 64-58 in the first round of the Bridgeport Regional on Sunday.
Ikea Witt added 17 points for the Hawks, including two free throws with 11 seconds left to help seal the victory. Hartford (27-3), the America East tournament champion, has won 21 of its last 22 games and won its first NCAA Tournament game in three tries under coach Jen Rizzotti, a former national player of the year at Connecticut.
Kamesha Hairston led Temple (24-8) with 17 points and Dupree shot 4-for-12 and scored 11 points, nearly seven below her average.
Hartford advances to a Tuesday night matchup against either Georgia or Marist.
With the game tied at 58 with 2:12 left, Witt made both ends of a one-and-one to give Hartford a two-point lead. Dupree missed a left-handed hook shot, but Hood missed an open jumper on the Hawks' next possession. Dupree missed again, and Hartford's Erica Beverly cut down the lane, received a pass and banked in a shot with 34 seconds left to give Hartford a 62-58 lead.
Khadija Bowens missed a three-pointer for Temple, and Witt made two more free throws with 11 seconds left.
Hood scored six points in the opening minutes of the second half as Hartford took a 36-29 lead. The advantage grew to 51-40 on a drive by Erika Messam before Temple rallied to cut the margin to 53-49, keyed by a three-point play by Hairston.
Hartford pulled away again and led 58-51, but the Owls clawed back to tie the game on a follow shot by Hairston, a jumper by Dupree and a three-point play by Bowen, who was fouled by Witt while sinking a jumper.
Hartford came into the tournament with regular-season wins over teams from the Big East (Seton Hall) and the Atlantic 10 (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph's) and showed no fear against the A-10 champion Owls. The Hawks took the ball inside early and found success, particularly Hood, who scored 10 of Hartford's first 18 points, all from in the lane.
Hartford made six of its first eight shots and led 16-11 on an 8-footer by Hood, but Temple scored 11 of the next 13 points to take a 22-18 lead. Hartford rallied to take a 25-24 lead at halftime.
Dupree was held to two field goals and five points in the first 20 minutes, half of Hood's total for the half.
VISITORS: Hartford
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 Danielle Hood....... f 9 17 0 0 2 3 2 4 6 2 20 3 4 0 2 34
32 Erica Beverly....... f 5 12 0 0 1 2 4 7 11 1 11 2 0 1 0 29
03 Danielle Wexler..... g 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 2 2 2 1 0 2 35
12 Erika Messam........ g 4 14 0 2 1 1 2 2 4 1 9 2 0 0 1 33
14 Ikea Witt........... g 6 11 0 1 5 7 1 5 6 2 17 1 2 0 3 34
33 Marylynne Schaefer.. 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 18
44 Katie Kelley........ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 9
54 Jessica Clark....... 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 8
TM TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 27 61 1 5 9 13 12 26 38 9 64 10 9 1 9 200
TOTAL FG%: .443 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%: .200 REBOUNDS
F Throw %: .692 2
HOME TEAM: Temple
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04 DUPREE, Candice..... f 4 12 0 0 3 4 2 7 9 1 11 2 3 2 1 37
21 HAIRSTON, Kamesha... f 8 15 0 2 1 3 4 6 10 3 17 2 3 0 3 40
42 COMFORT, Lady....... c 4 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 8 0 0 1 0 17
03 OWENS, Jennifer..... g 2 7 1 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 5 6 0 0 0 39
05 BOWENS, Khadija..... g 5 12 1 2 1 1 0 3 3 3 12 3 2 1 0 34
12 MORRIS, Ashley...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
14 LANDRY, Shenita..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
25 PITTMAN, Nicole..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
30 MADDOX, Fatima...... 2 6 1 4 0 0 1 4 5 0 5 1 3 0 1 22
TM TEAM................
Totals.............. 25 60 3 12 5 8 10 24 34 13 58 14 12 4 5 200
TOTAL FG%: .417 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%: .250 REBOUNDS
F Throw %: .625 2
Date: 03/19/06 Site: Trenton, NJ (Sovereign Bank Aren Attendance: 0
Officials: Wesley Dean; Yvette McKinney; Leslie Claybrook;
Technical fouls: Hartford-None. Temple-None.
Score by Periods 1 2 Total
Hartford............ 25 39 - 64
Temple.............. 24 34 - 58