After an amazing upset victory over Duke in the first round of the DePaul Invitational Tournament an exhausted and beat up Hartford lost the championship game to a well-rested DePaul on their home court.
Friday's win over Duke (ranked #5 nationally) was all heart and hard work as the Hawks held Duke to only 4 points over the first ten minutes, and 17 points in the first half. Duke never led in the battle coming closest in the final seconds. The final score was 53-51 Hartford, only the second time in two years that Duke has scored less than 52 points. They currently average 87.5 points per game. The large contingent of Duke fans in attendance watched the game in stunned silence while all 15 Hartford fans made McGrath arena sound like the Cameron Field House.
After Hartford's win, Duke dropped to #13 in the polls while Hartford received 27 Top 25 votes.
A win in the championship game on DePaul's home court would surely have propelled Hartford into the top 25. It was not to be however. DePaul's coach made it clear that his team (coming off a 40 point romp over Southern in the first round) was well-rested and would run all night. Hartford was able to keep up for 36 minutes but ultimately ran out of steam at the end giving DePaul an 70 - 61 victory.
It's unfortunate that the girls didn't have much time to savor the Duke win. After the game it was right back to the hotel to watch DePaul film followed by an early shoot-around and pre-game meal before the championship game. Following the DePaul loss, the girls were dejected, but we hope as time goes by that they will once again be able to appreciate and savor the Duke upset.
Following the DePaul game, it was off to Ohio State to play another ranked team (#18) on their home court. The Buckeyes were hungry after losing to #20 Auburn in their last game and took it out on the Hawks. Ohio State's size advantage in the post was the story of the night as the Hawks fell 83-65.
After their whirlwind tour of Columbus, Ohio the girls then boarded yet another flight to Washington DC for the George Washington Invitational Tournament on Friday 11/28. In a must-win game the Hawks beat Big South champion Liberty 45 - 35 in one of the uglier offensive games you will ever see. But in true Rizzotti fashion, the win proved once again that great defense can win games even when the offense isn't there.
Hartford moves on to the championship game Saturday at 5:30 against the winner of the George Washington/U Southern Alabama first rounder. Normally the home team in these tournaments arranges it so they are in the final so we assume we'll be playing GWU tomorrow.
After GWU it's a 6 hour late-night bus ride home, but as far as these girls are concerned, they can't get on that bus soon enough. Unlike last year's Hawaii road trip, this one was about 50 degrees colder with no time for surfing or late-night luaus.
Trip Summary -
Game 1 at DePaul - Hartford 53 Duke 51 Game Story & Box Score
Game 2 at DePaul - DePaul 80 Hartford 71 Game Story & Box Score
Game 3 at Ohio State - Ohio State 63 Hartford 45 Game Story & Box Score
Game 4 at GWU - Hartford 45 Liberty 35 Game Story & Box Score
No comments:
Post a Comment