STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The University of Hartford women's basketball team fell to 1-1 in America East play, dropping a 61-57 decision to the Stony Brook Seawolves on Wednesday night. Hartford was led by junior Cherelle Moore who finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

Moore's 14 was joined in double figures by Amber Bepko, who added 12 points, as the Seawolves outscored Hartford 30-14 in the second half, leading to their first victory against the Hawks since the 2006 season. Joining Moore and Bepko in leading Hartford was Shanise Bultron and Deanna Mayza who added eight and seven points, respectively. Taylor Clark and Morgan Lumb rounded out the leading scorers with six points each.

Hartford finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (21-of-49) from the field after shooting over 50% in the first half (55.2%, 16-of-29) for the second-straight game. Hartford also dropped the battle of the boards by a 38-31 margin with Moore's six rebounds leading the Hawks. Clark, Lumb and Bepko each grabbed five rebounds. Senior Alyssa Englert led Hartford with five assists.

Within the Hawks 16 first half field goals was a season-high seven three pointers, led by Bepko who finished with three. Hartford would add just one more three pointer in the second half, finishing 8-of-19 from beyond the arc. Hartford also finished 7-of-8 from the free throw line, while Stony Brook took 21 total free throws, connecting on 15 of them.

The teams would keep things close over the first six minutes of the game, with three ties before the Seawolves took a 13-11 advantage on back-to-back baskets from Sabre Proctor, who scored 11 of Stony Brook's first 13 points. Hartford would erase that deficit with an 8-0 run that they extended to 18-4 and a 29-17 lead with 6:48 remaining in the half.

The first run in that rally included a pair of three pointers from Lumb and Bepko, while Bepko and Bultron each added long range buckets in a 10-0 run. The other four points in that rally came from Moore who connected on a pair of jump shots courtesy of assists from Englert.

Hartford biggest lead of the first half came with 3:48 remaining before the break, 36-21. Back-to-back baskets from Lumb and Bultron provided that margin. The Hawks would match that lead with two minutes remaining thanks to a three pointer from Bepko and a pair of free throws from Mayza. The Seawolves would end the half scoring five of the final seven points, allowing Hartford to take a 43-31 advantage into the locker room.

Coming out of the intermission, the Hawks would connect on a jump shot in the first minute but would be held without another basket for nine minutes, allowing the Seawolves to get as close as seven, 46-39 with 12:29 remaining. Moore would open the half for Hartford with a jump shot and break the drought at the 10:06 mark with another jumper.

The second of those Moore baskets was followed by a three pointer from Mayza, extending the Hawks lead back to 12, 51-39, with 9:37 remaining. That three pointer from Mayza was one of just three baskets over the final 10 minutes as the Seawolves ended the game on a 21-5 run. Trailing by six, 61-55, Hartford would get a layup from Bepko to cut the lead to four with a three point attempt with three seconds remaining blocked by the Seawolves, securing the home team's victory.

Hartford returns to action on Sunday, January 12, when they welcome the Albany Great Danes to the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion for the front end of a doubleheader with the men's team. The Hawks and Great Danes will tip off a rematch of the 2013 America East Championship game at 12 p.m. with the action to be carried live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN with Erice Frede and Frank Sullivan on the call.