Box Score
BALTIMORE – UMBC women's basketball
had four players finish in double-digit points, including a
game-high from the Retrievers' America East Player of the
Game Brittany Crowell (Brandywine, Md./Gwynn Park/James
Madison), but Hartford knocked down 50 percent of its shots in the
second half en route to locking up the No. 2 seed in the America
East Tournament with a 69-62 victory on Senior Night at the RAC
Arena.
Senior guard Raven Harris (Virginia Beach,
Va./Princess Anne/American) registered 16 points, seven rebounds
and four assists, while classmate Kristin Coles (Charles
Town, W.Va./Notre Dame Academy/American) added 13 points, eight
rebounds and three assists. Sophomore forward Ashley
Lambert (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) chipped in 10 points
for the second-straight game.
UMBC (10-18, 6-9 AE) moves into a three-way tie for the third
seed in the tournament with one game remaining in the regular
season. Hartford (18-10, 9-6 AE) snaps a two-game skid in the
contest and completes the season sweep against the Retrievers.
Despite the Hawks jumping out to a 7-2 lead in the opening
minutes, UMBC stormed back behind the play of Coles who scored
seven of the game's next nine points to knot the score at nine. The
Retrievers suffered some early foul trouble, allowing Hartford to
go on a 15-3 run, giving the Hawks its largest lead of the
afternoon at 24-12, with 10:25 to go in the half.
Lambert helped to spark the Retrievers on the comeback, scoring
back-to-back buckets to initiate an 11-0 UMBC run that would tie
the game at 28-28 with 1:24 left in the first. The Retrievers shot
42.9 percent from the floor in the opening half, but a three from
senior guard Daphne Elliot with 26 seconds left – her ninth
points of the half – gave Hartford the advantage at the
break, 33-30.
Crowell drilled her first two attempts from long range of the
second half, giving UMBC its first lead of the game, 40-38, with
17:11 on the clock and Harris followed with a layup to put the
Retrievers up four, but the inside game of Ruthanne Doherty and the
long range shooting of Shanise Bultron helped the Hawks to score
nine unanswered points and regain the lead for good. Bultron, who
finished with 12 points, hit three of her four threes in the
contest during the second half.
UMBC came back within one on two occasions, the first coming on
a jumper from senior forward Kim
Browning (Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover) and the second coming
after back-to-back treys from Crowell, but each time the Hawks
responded with a three to preserve their lead.
The Retrievers would score one field goal over the final six
minutes of play, but a pair of free throws from Harris cut UMBC's
deficit to two, 60-58. However, Hartford's senior forward and
America East Player of the Game Nikkia Smith, scored six of her
eight second half points in the final four minutes to coast the
Hawks to victory. Smith finished with the game's only
double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11
boards.
Hartford outrebounded the Retrievers 46-34 in the contest,
including 15 offensive boards that lead to 19 second chance
points.
The Retrievers close out the regular season at Binghamton on
Saturday, March 2 at Events Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., with
all the action available live on ESPN3.
