ESPN.com: Hawks are "Rising Star"

The city of Hartford likes to market itself with the dubious moniker of "New England's Rising Star," but the slogan finally appears to accurately describe at least one thing in the colorless capital.

By scoring a 64-58 win against No. 6 seed Temple in Trenton, N.J., on Sunday, the 11th-seeded Hartford Hawks became just the second America East team to advance to the second round (following Maine in 1999). Jennifer Rizzotti's team is also one more upset away from moving on to Bridgeport, Conn., where the local Cinderellas would draw the kind of media attention usually reserved for the academic neighbors to the east at the University of Connecticut.

The Hawks have some NCAA Tournament experience of their own, but a lot of it shows up for games dressed in the coach's designer duds. Senior guards Danielle Wexler and Erika Messam, who were around for both of Hartford's first two trips to the NCAA Tournament, were instrumental in Sunday's upset, but a freshman, sophomore and junior led the way down the stretch.

Sophomore Danielle Hood led the Hawks with 18 points, just as she led a balanced attack in scoring during the regular season. And it was freshman Erica Beverly and junior Ikea Witt repeatedly stepping up in the final minutes, quelling a Temple rally that seemed destined to overcome the upstarts.

Rizzotti knows firsthand that building a program into a postseason juggernaut is a gradual process, but that's one piece of experience she might choose not to share with her young team.