NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Hartford women's basketball dropped its second game of the season with a 67-45 decision against the Southeastern Conference's Vanderbilt on Thursday night. Leading the Hawks (7-2 overall) was senior Alex Hall who came off the bench to score 10 points, her third game of the season in double figures.

Hall was the only Hawk to finish in double figures, but was joined in leading the team by sophomore Amber Bepko and fellow senior Nikkia Smith who each finished with eight points. Overall, Hartford finished the night shooting 32.1 percent on 18-of-56, while the Commodores connected on 25-of-52 for 48.1 percent.

The Hawks also dropped the battle of the boards with Vanderbilt grabbing 43 to Hartford's 32. Bepko led Hartford with six rebounds, while Tiffany Clarke finished with 12 boards to go along with 22 points completing the double double. Clarke also broke the 1,000 point plateau in Thursday's game, becoming the 34th player at Vanderbilt to reach the century mark.

The Commodores opened the scoring for the night with a jumper from Kady Schrann on the opening possession. Neither team would score for the next two minutes until the Hawks got on the board with their first bucket a three pointer from Bepko.

After Vanderbilt responded with a jump shot from Clarke the Hawks scored the next five to take an 8-5 lead with 14:10 remaining three different players provided the offense in the mini run with Smith and Katie Roth both providing buckets and Bepko a free throw.

Vanderbilt responded to that run with one of its own, 13-0, opening up a 17-8 lead before Roth broke up nearly seven scoreless minutes with a three pointer. Vanderbilt then extended their run with seven additional points, opening up their largest lead of the half 24-11 with 5:22 remaining. The opening basket in the second run provided the 1,000th point for Vanderbilt's Clarke, a senior post from Duluth, Ga.

Hall would end the second Commodore run with her first points on a free throw and then added a three pointer and two more free throws that were broken up by a Clark layup. Hall's five points pulled Hartford back into a single digit deficit at 26-17 with 3:21 remaining in the half.

Vanderbilt would then score two of the final three baskets in the half to take a 30-19 lead into the locker room at the break. Hall's five points tied Roth in leading the Hawks in the opening half.

Coming out of the break, the Hawks struck first and as Roth scored on the opening possession, just 12 seconds into the action. The Commodores answered right back with a three pointer from Schrann, the first of seven straight points for the home team.

After four straight points from Gabby Smith gave Vanderbilt a 44-25 advantage with 15:09 remaining in the game, the Hawks began scored three straight buckets to pull within 13. The first four points in the run came from Smith, while Bepko provided the final two in the run.

Hartford would get as close as 12 in the remainder of the contest following a three pointer from freshman Christie Michals, but after calling timeout the Commodores answered by scoring the next three buckets to re-open an 18 point lead with 6:50 remaining.

Back-to-back buckets from Elan Brown and Jasmine Lister provided the first 20 points lead for Vanderbilt as Hartford would cut that lead under 20 on two occasions down the stretch. A three pointer from Vanderbilt's Smith (Gabby) and a layup from Rayte'a Long within a 35 second span put the Commodores up by 24 with just under two minutes remaining, while Hartford would muster just two more points to close the game out, a layup from Cherelle Moore.

The Hawks continue a two-game road swing on Sunday when they travel to Hanover, N.H. for a date with the Dartmouth Big Green. The Hawks look to build upon a string of seven straight victories against the IVY foe, with the last loss to Dartmouth coming in December of 2006. Dartmouth and Hartford are scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip.