PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Senior guard Amber Bepko, off a pass from sophomore Morgan Lumb, scored a three pointer with 6:23 remaining in the opening half that propelled her over the 1,000 point plateau as she became the 15th member of the 1,000 point club. Those three points were part of a team-high 17 for the Guilford, Conn. native as she led the University of Hartford women's basketball team to a 70-63 victory over UMBC on Monday afternoon.

Bepko was one of three Hawks who finished in double figures joined by a pair of sophomores, Lumb with 14 points and Deanna Mayza with 16 points. The 14 points for Lumb is her second straight game with double figures in the scoring column, while Mayza's 16 is a league-play high for the point guard who also led the team with six assists, her fourth straight game dishing out five or more assists.

As a team, Hartford finished the game shooting 47.7 percent (21-of-44) from the field, including making 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) attempts from beyond the three point arc. Bepko and Lumb led the Hawks outside shooting performance as they both made four from long range. The Hawks also combined to make 19-of-25 attempts from the free throw line.

Hartford also topped UMBC in the battle of the boards with a 36-27 margin led by freshman Janelle Harrison who pulled down eight. Bepko followed just behind her with seven rebounds. Harrison also finished one point shy of a double figure scoring night as she finished 3-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free throw line for nine total points.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·        Senior guard Amber Bepko became the 15th member all-time of the Hawks 1,000 point club when she scored her second of four three pointers against UMBC with just over six minutes remaining in the opening half. Bepko is the first Hawk to score at least 1,000 career points since Ruthanne Doherty and Daphne Elliott eclipsed the plateau in their senior season (2012-13).

·        Bepko led three Hawks in double figures against the Retrievers as she finished with 17 points on 4-of-9 from the field, with all four baskets from beyond the three point arc. She also finished 5-of-7 at the free throw line while pulling down seven rebounds and picking off one steal.

·        Joining Bepko in leading the Hawks was sophomores Deanna Mayza and Morgan Lumb who finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively. The 14 points for Lumb is her second-straight game scoring in double figures while Mayza's 16 is a season-high in league play for the point guard.

·        Mayza also led Hartford with six assists, her fourth straight game dishing out five or more assists. Those six assists pushed her over the century mark for the season as she now has 104.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·        The Hawks began a string of nine unanswered points at the midway point in the first half with the first of two three pointers from senior Amber Bepko. The 9-0 run for Hartford erased a 10 point deficit and ended with the Hawks trailing 15-14 following a pair of free throws from Morgan Lumb.

·        Less than 30 seconds after the Retrievers stopped the Hawks 9-0 run, Bepko drained her second three pointer of the game which pushed her over the 1,000 point plateau for her career.

·        Hartford took its first lead of the game as part of a 12-0 run with the go-ahead basket a layup from Janelle Harrison off a feed from La'Trice Hall with 5:22 remaining before the break. That layup began what was a five point play for the Hawks as Harrison was fouled on the play and Bepko also went 2-for-2 at the line following a technical foul.

·        The Hawks largest lead in the opening half was nine points, which came on three occasions including at the final buzzer following two free throws from Harrison with less than one second remaining.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

·        The Hawks came out of the intermission and hit the first two baskets of the second half, both of which came from the hand of Morgan Lumb and came from beyond the three point arc. That early run pushed the Hawks lead to its largest of the game at 15, 42-27.

·        Leading Hartford in the second half was its sophomores, Lumb and Deanna Mayza, who each finished with nine points. The pair also combined to dish out five assists and pull down seven rebounds in the final 20 minutes.

·        After the Retrievers pulled their deficit to within three points, 63-60, with 90 seconds remaining in the game, Hartford limited UMBC to just one more basket through the remainder of the game. The Hawks secured the victory at the free throw line as Mayza finished 4-of-4 and La'Trice Hall went 1-of-2, all in the final 30 seconds.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·        The 70 points scored by Hartford is the first time they have scored 70 in league play and the third time this season with the season high of 75 coming against CCSU back on November 17.

·        The Hawks finished the game shooting 47.7 percent from the field (21-of-44), the fourth time in five conference games they have shot 40 percent of better. The nine three pointers made (in 21 attempts) is also a high for Hartford since opening league play.

·        Sophomore point guard Deanna Mayza collected six assists, her fourth straight and 11th time this season with five or more and the 16th time in 19 games she has led the team in assists. Entering today's game, Mayza moved up to 27th in the country in assists per game.

·        Sophomore Morgan Lumb completed her second-straight game in double figures with 14 against the Retrievers after finishing with 13 on Saturday at UMass Lowell. Lumb also sank four three pointers against UMBC, matching her career high for the fifth time, once previously this season against Boston College.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·        SR guard Amber Bepko became the Hawks 15th member of the 1,000 point club when she sank her second three pointer in the first half.

·        Bepko led three Hawks in double figures with 17 points while SO's Deanna Mayza added 16 and Morgan Lumb chipped in 14.

·        Freshman Janelle Harrison led the Hawks to a 36-27 rebounding advantage with a team-high eight rebounds.

·        Mayza led Hartford with six assists, increasing her league lead over the century mark for the season with 104.

UP NEXT
The Hawks close out a stretch of three games in five days with a home tilt against New Hampshire. The Hawks and Wildcats are set to battle on Wednesday, January 21 with the opening tip scheduled for 7 p.m.