, D.C.-The UMBC women's basketball team dropped its season opener to nationally ranked George Washington, 72-58, Friday evening at the Smith Center. Three players scored in double figures for the Retrievers.

Down 16-10 six minutes into the game, UMBC rallied to take a 17-16 lead with 9:26 remaining in the first half on a pair of free throws by senior point guard Brittnie Hughes. But Sarah-Jo Lawrence scored nine seconds later to put the Colonials back on top, 18-17, and they never looked back.

George Washington went on to score 14 straight points over the next six minutes and jumped out to a 30-17 lead before junior guard Kristin Drabyn connected on a field goal with four minutes remaining. The Retrievers scored only five points over the last nine and a half minutes of the first period and went into halftime trailing 37-22.

The Colonials opened up an 18-point lead at 61-43 with just six minutes remaining in the second half, but UMBC scored eight straight points to pull back to within 10 at 61-51 with four minutes to go. But Kimberly Beck scored a three-point basket for the Colonials to end the Retrievers' rally.

Hughes led UMBC with 13 points and six assists and was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Drabyn and senior Sharri Rohde each tallied 12 points, and Rohde added a team-high nine rebounds, leaving her one away from a double-double. She also had three blocks in the game. Eleven of Rohde's 12 points came in the second half.

George Washington's Kenan Cole led all scorers with 14 points and also added eight rebounds. Five Colonials reached double figures for scoring.

The Retrievers sunk 10 three-pointers in the game, including seven of 11 in the second half, and shot 58.8 percent from long distance. UMBC shot 43.8 percent from the floor, while the Colonials connected on 47.4 percent of their field goal attempts.

The Retrievers return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 14, as they host local rival Coppin State in their home opener at RAC Arena at 5 p.m.