On Sunday, the Hartford Women’s Basketball Team finished their weekend series against Chicago State Cougars inside Chase Family Arena. Hawks Sophomores Nayeli Dowding and Tatum Forbes tied as Hartford’s lead scores, dropping 12 points in the eventual 57-49 loss.

Hartford was able to take a 29-19 lead heading into the half. The second half started with Taylor Norris opening up the scoring for the Cougars; however, the Hawks would respond as they drilled back-to-back three-pointers, giving them their largest lead of the entire game. However, the Cougars came out firing and overcame the deficit as Senior Janiah Newell led the scoring for Chicago State, dropping an eye-opening 22 points. Hawks senior Irene Primo scored 11 points to finish in doubles figures.

Primo has scored double figures three times in Hartford’s last five outings. Two of Hartford’s newcomers were in the spotlight as well as Elena Houghton was passing the ball left and right as she got credited with three assists; Zaiha Minnis was the rebound magnet as she collected a team-high 15 boards for the Hawks. Minnis was part of Hartford Hawks’ history as she captured the most rebounds in a single game since Sierra Smith set the previous record and grabbed 14 against Brown back in 2021.

The Hawks will be heading on the road as they are set to battle against Northern-Vermont Johnson on February 5th, with tip-off set for 2 p.m.