BALTIMORE - The UMBC women's basketball team used a 24-point third quarter to pull ahead but would ultimately fall, 72-63, to the New Hampshire Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. 

The Wildcats move to 6-12 overall and 3-3 in America East play while the Retrievers fall to 4-12 on the year and 0-5 in conference contests.

Senior Te'yJah Oliver (Clinton, Md./Riverdale Baptist) led the Retrievers with 24 points, going 9-16 from the field. Junior Janee'a Summers (Bound Brook, N.J.) also posted double-digits, chipping in 16 points after going 5-12 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.

New Hampshire held a four-point lead heading into the third quarter, 30-26, which UMBC was quick to tie up as Summers and Oliver scored within 24 seconds of each other to make the score 30-all. Senior Lucrezia Costa (Rome, Italy) gave the Retrievers their first lead of the game, 32-30, with 7:44 to play before the teams began to trade baskets. Sophomore Eryn Fisher (Perth, Australia) converted to sets of free throws to extend the UMBC lead to three, 39-36, with 4:56 to go. The teams again exchanged baskets until UNH cut the lead down to one with 24 seconds remaining. Freshman Lyric Swann (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) hit a three-point jumper with five ticks remaining to send UMBC up, 50-46, heading into the final quarter.

The Retrievers extended their lead back to four, 52-48, early in the fourth quarter free throws from Summers before the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead, 56-52, with 7:44 to play. Oliver helped to cut the deficit down to one, 60-59, with four minutes to go before New Hampshire went on a 10-2 run to take a 70-61 lead. Costa scored the final basked for the Retrievers at the five second mark and the Wildcats ended the game with free throws for the 72-63 final.

The Wildcats outshot the Retrievers, 52.8 percent to 46 percent. Both teams shot 86.7 percent (13-15) from the free throw line. In the paint, UNH was 10 points better than UMBC, outscoring their hosts, 40-30. 

The teams kept it close throughout the first quarter, with the score tied at 4-4 at the 5:54 point. The Wildcats scored six-straight to take a 10-4 lead before junior Jen Gast (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) and Oliver scored to make the score 10-8 with 3:21 to play. New Hampshire took a 17-10 lead with a little over a minute left, but Summers made a layup and Oliver hit a three-point shot as the clock wound down to give UNH a 17-15 advantage heading into the second quarter.

UNH hit two sets of free throws to start the second period and took an early 21-15 lead. Redshirt-sophomore O'lesheya Braxton (Paterson, N.J.) scored the first basket for the Retrievers in the quarter before the Wildcats scored seven-straight to take a 28-17 lead with 2:48 to play. UMBC used a 7-0 run at the end of the quarter to cut the deficit down to four, 28-24, with five points coming from Oliver and a layup from Gast. Sophomore Sariah Pense (Wellington, New Zealand) put up the final layup of the first half at the 28 second mark with UNH holding onto a four-point lead, 30-26.

In addition to leading the team in points, Olvier also had three assists and three steals. Braxton led the team in rebounds with five. For the Wildcats, three players reached double-digits on the day: Ashley Storey (17), Amanda Torres (16), and Carolina Soucy (15).

The Retrievers close out their January home schedule on Wednesday, January 22 when they host the Hartford Hawks in the team's annual Midday Madness game. The opening tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.