BALTIMORE—The UMBC women's basketball team (6-14, 2-5 AEC) lost to America East rival New Hampshire (5-14, 2-5 AEC) Saturday evening at the RAC Arena. Sophomore guard Carlee Cassidy led the Retrievers with a game-high 20 points.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-2 lead and made seven of their first nine shots of the game. The Retrievers were down, 15-10, at the 14:01 mark before consecutive 3-pointers by junior guard Chantay Frazier and Cassidy gave them a brief one-point lead three minutes later.
New Hampshire freshman forward Denise Beliveau answered with a trifecta of her own, and a layup by center Racheal Fowler put the Wildcats back on top by four. But senior center Amanda Robinson sparked a 10-1 UMBC run with seven points to give the Retrievers a game-high six-point lead, 27-21, with 4:56 left in the first half.
An Ashley Cerniglia 3-pointer tied the game at 30-30 with 1:05 to play, but freshman guard Michele Brokans' layup with 53 seconds left gave the Retrievers a 32-30 halftime lead.
New Hampshire forward Candace Williams led all scorers with 11 points at halftime, while Cassidy posted a team-best 10 for UMBC.
The Retrievers shot 52.2 percent (12-for-23) in the first half while holding the Wildcats to just 40.6 percent (13-for-32).
The teams alternated baskets for the first four minutes of the second half, but a jumper by Danielle Flowers at the 16:17 mark gave New Hampshire a 40-39 lead and sparked a 7-0 spurt. A pair of foul shots apiece by Cassidy and Frazier brought the Retrievers back to within two points, but the Wildcats used a 17-5 run to break the game open. Jacinda Williams' 3-pointer with 8:31 to play gave UNH a game-high 14-point lead, 62-48.
UMBC scored 12 of the game's next 17 points to trim the deficit to seven, 67-60, with 1:40 remaining, but the Wildcats made 10 of 13 free throws down the stretch to seal the 77-67 victory.
Cassidy, UMBC's America East Player of the Game, led three Retrievers in double figures with 20 points, while Frazier scored 14 to go along with a career-high eight rebounds. Senior guard Kristin Drabyn added a 12-point effort. Robinson scored a season-high nine points and pulled down five rebounds, while Brokans set a new career best with nine points while tying a personal high with six assists.
Candace Williams scored a team-high 19 points and added eight rebounds and was the Wildcats' America East Player of the Game. Flowers scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Beliveau also contributed 14 to go along with eight boards. Guard Amy Simpson dished out 11 assists in the game.
The Retrievers shot 47.2 percent from the floor and drained 10 three-pointers for the fifth time this season. UMBC was also a perfect 7-for-7 as a team from the foul line, including 5-of-5 from Cassidy.
The Wildcats shot 44.3 percent in the game, including 48.3 percent in the second half.
The teams were even with 30 rebounds apiece, but UMBC committed 20 turnovers, leading to 19 UNH points, while the Wildcats committed just eight miscues in the game.
The Retrievers return to action Tuesday, Feb. 5, when they travel to Hartford for a rematch of the 2007 America East Championship game.
