West Hartford, Conn.—Sophomore Laura Castaldo (West Nyack, N.Y./Smithtown West) scored a career high 20 points on a career best six three's to lead the Retrievers, however UMBC fell 65-57 to Hartford on Thursday night. The loss drops the Retrievers to 11-8, 2-4 AE on the year.

The Retrievers came out of the gates on fire, scoring the first seven points of the contest. Sophomore Laura Castaldo hit back to back treys, forcing a Hartford timeout. From there the Hawks found their offense, ending the stanza on a 12-4 run to take a 13-12 lead after the first quarter of play.

Hartford would continue their run, taking an 18-13 lead early in the second quarter, before a Liz McNaughton (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) three ended the run. The Retrievers would cut the deficit to just two after a Castaldo three. McNaughton would connect from deep the next possession to give the Retrievers a 21-20 lead. The lead would be short-lived as the Hawks would hit a triple of their own to retake the lead. Hartford would hold UMBC scoreless the rest of the half, scoring seven straight to lead 27-21 at the break.

Castaldo led the Retrievers in the first half with nine points on 3-4 shooting from three. UMBC shot just 30.8% from the field, but 50% from deep.

The second half started with the Hawks in the same place as where they left off, extending their run to 15-0. Pandora Wilson (Gaithersburg, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) ended the run on a jumper, followed by a Castaldo three to cut the deficit to nine. The Retrievers would come all the way back, scoring the last eight points, capped by a Taylor McCarley (Bowie, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) trey to tie the game at 43-43 after three.

UMBC took the lead with a pair of Castaldo freebies early in the fourth, but it was all Hartford down the stretch. The Hawks rattled off 13 straight points, taking a 56-45 lead midway through the stanza. The Retrievers would the Hartford lead to six after a Wilson layup, but the Hawks held on, winning 65-57.

Castaldo finished with a career best 20 points on 6-11 shooting, including a career high six three pointers made. Wilson finished with 14 points and four boards. McCarley ended with eight points and ten assists.

The Retriever women will be back on the hardwood on Wednesday, Jan. 27 for a 7 p.m. matchup with Binghamton at the RAC.