One Step Away From the Sweet 16

The Hartford Hawks will try to continue making history tonight (Tuesday) when they take on Georgia in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

The 11th seeded Hawks and No. 3 seed Georgia will face off at 7 p.m. at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, N.J. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and on WWUH radio (91.3 FM and www.wwuh.org).

The winner of tonight's game will advance to the Sweet 16, and will play either No. 2 UCONN or No. 7 Virginia Tech on Sunday in Bridgeport, Conn.

To purchase tickets for tonight's game, call 888-SBA-TIXX. Please be sure to say that you want to sit in the Hartford section when you order your tickets. Tickets are $30 for the general public, and $15 for students with college ID.

The Department of Athletics has arranged for two buses to take fans to the game in Trenton. The fan buses will leave the Sports Center today at noon, and will head back to campus immediately after the game. The cost for the bus is $25 per person. If you would like to make a reservation for one of the fan buses, please contact Ann Barthel at 768-4638 or barthel@hartford.edu, or contact June Krippner at 768-4658 or krippner@hartford.edu.

Hawks in the National Spotlight

The Hartford women made history Sunday by upsetting sixth-seeded Temple, 64-58, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It was the first NCAA tournament win in school history; the team’s first victory against a ranked opponent; and just the second NCAA tournament win by a women’s basketball team from the America East conference.

Coach Jennifer Rizzotti, her players, and the University of Hartford have been in the national media spotlight ever since Sunday’s game. On Monday morning, the University's pep band, cheerleaders, and Howie the Hawk were invited to appear on CBS’s “The Early Show” in New York City. In addition, for much of the day Monday, anyone who visited the women’s college basketball page on ESPN.com was greeted by a photo of jubilant Hartford players and a story about the Hawks’ upset win over Temple.

University alumni and Hawks fans from around Connecticut, the nation, and the world have been posting congratulatory messages on the “Hawks Hoop-Blog,” at hawksncaa.blogspot.com. Among those who have sent messages are Hartford alumni in Oxford, England, and Paris, France, and a couple in Yokohama, Japan, who became fans of Rizzotti when they were graduate students at the University of Connecticut.

Be sure to visit the Hawks Hoop-Blog to post messages for the Hawks and to read detailed, behind-the-scenes coverage of the team’s NCAA experience from Jon Easterbrook, who is in his 11th season as the play-by-play voice of Hartford women’s basketball.