ORONO, Maine – Fifteen points and eight rebounds from senior Nikkia Smith led Hartford to a 52-37 win over the Maine Black Bears on Wednesday night at Alfond Arena. The victory for Hartford (10-6 overall, 1-2 America East) breaks a three-game losing skid and is the first in conference action.

Smith finished the night making seven of her 10 attempts from the field as the Hawks finished the 40 minutes shooting 42 percent overall on 21-of-50. Six of those 21 baskets came from beyond the arc, with Hartford shooting 26.1 percent from long range (6-of-23). Following Smith in leading the team was fellow classmate Daphne Elliott and junior Alyssa Englert who each finished with eight. The pair also led Hartford with five assists each, while as a team the Hawks finished with 17 assists in their 21 total baskets.

The visitors also finished with a 34-24 advantage on the boards, led by Smith's eight. Ruthanne Doherty grabbed seven rebounds for Hartford, adding to her six points. The Hawks also managed eight total steals led by three each from Smith and Elliott. Those eight steals helped lead to 20 turnovers on the Black Bears.

Hartford put the first two buckets of the night on the board, a jumper from Smith and a layup from Englert. The Hawks wouldn't relinquish that lead throughout the first 20 minutes building it to as much as nine with 7:40 remaining before the break. That lead came courtesy of five straight points from Elliott. Her first basket of the game was the Hawks third three pointer of the night and she followed that up with the Hawks first free throws connecting on both.

Maine followed that five point run for Elliott by stringing together five of their own on a layup from Chantel Charles and the Black Bears first three pointer of the night from Lauren Bodine. Hartford then responded by scoring four straight on layups from Cherelle Moore and Taylor Clark.

A layup with 2:48 remaining before intermission from Danielle Walczak provided the final points of the half for the Black Bears. Hartford answered that bucket with one from Doherty which provided the halftime margin 25-17.

Smith led the Hawks at the break with six points, making three of four from the field. Hartford finished the first 20 minutes with nine assists in 10 total baskets, led by Englert who finished with three. Walczak led all players in the game with eight points.

Hartford finished the first half connecting on 10-of-22 from the field for 45.5 percent, with three of those baskets from beyond the three point arc. Defensively, the Hawks held Maine to 8-of-24 from the field (33.3 percent) with just one three pointer. On the board, Hartford held a 16-13 advantage going into the locker room led by four from Smith.

After the Black Bears opened up the second half with a layup from Waczak, Hartford rattled off the next seven opening up their first double digit lead of the evening 32-19 with 16:26 remaining. A three pointer from Courtney Anderson broke the Hartford momentum, but the Hawks answered that with five more, opening up a 15 point advantage on a three pointer from Englert.

Maine followed what totaled a 12-3 run for Hartford by scoring five straight to pull within single digits at 37-28 with 12:00 remaining. Walczak scored four of the seven for the Black Bears. The Hawks responded to that small Maine run by scoring the next 10, opening up a 47-28 lead with under 10 minutes left in regulation. Smith led the Hawks in that run with five points, including the final three on a layup and free throw.

After a jump shot from Doherty provided a 49-31 cushion for Hartford, the Black Bears scored the next three on three free throws. Maine would only score three more point on the evening on a three pointer in the final minute from Bodine. The Hawks final bucket of the night came with 4:30 remaining on a layup from Smith, with a free throw from Englert the only other points in the final four minutes.

The Hawks return to the friendly confines of the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion for their next two games. First on the docket is a date with the Stony Brook Seawolves at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 12. Following that, the women's team will host an “Education Game” inviting youth from around the state for a 12:00 p.m. tip off against UMBC on Wednesday, January 16.