BALTIMORE—The UMBC women's basketball team (9-20, 5-11 AEC) pushed league-leading Hartford (24-5, 14-2 AEC) to the limit Saturday evening at RAC Arena, but in the end the Hawks prevailed, 78-68. On a night when the Retrievers honored their three seniors, it was a junior who stole the show, as Chantay Frazier tied her career high with 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
Senior center Amanda Robinson scored a season-high 15 points with a career-best four three-pointers, while senior guard Kristin Drabyn added 13 points.
Hartford center Danielle Hood scored a game-high 28 points on 13-of-19 shooting.
The Hawks jumped out to a 13-4 lead after just 5:30 had passed in the game, but the Retrievers went on a 10-0 run to take a 14-13 lead on a three-pointer by Frazier at the 9:46 mark. Robinson buried two triples during the spurt, while Hartford missed five straight shots and turned the ball over three times in eight possessions.
Hartford briefly regained the lead, but Frazier scored 10 of UMBC's final 14 points of the first half to give the Retrievers a 31-29 halftime advantage.
The Hawks again started the second half strong, using an 11-5 run to take a 39-36 lead with 16:16 to play. But senior guard Morgan Hatten drained a three-pointer to tie the game, and spark a 7-0 Retriever spurt that put UMBC back on top, 43-39.
Drabyn nailed her only triple of the night at the 11:38 mark to give the Retrievers their final lead, 46-45. Hartford then scored 11 straight points and 17 of the next 21 to open a game-high 12-point lead, 62-50, with 6:07 left.
The Retrievers trimmed the deficit to five points, 73-68, with 1:04 remaining on a pair of free throws by freshman forward Meghan Colabella, but they would not score again.
Frazier added six rebounds and two steals and tied a career high with five assists. Robinson also posted six rebounds on the night.
Hartford guard MaryLynne Schaefer scored 16 points with four three-pointers, while guard Lisa Etienne and forward Diana Delva led all players with seven rebounds. Guard Jamie McCabe posted eight assists in the game, while Etienne added six helpers to go along with three steals.
The Retrievers shot 51.1 percent in the game, including 59.1 percent (13-for-22) in the second half. The Hawks finished at 46.8 percent in the game, but were nearly as lethal in the second period at 55.9 percent (19-for-34).
Hartford out-rebounded UMBC, 33-26, with 12 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second-chance points.
Before the game, the Retrievers honored Drabyn, Robinson and Hatten, who were playing at the RAC Arena for the final time.
Despite the loss, UMBC clinched the No. 6 seed in the America East Championships and will take on third-seeded Boston University on Friday at 2 p.m. in West Hartford, Conn.
