THE BASICS:

RESULT: George Washington 82, Hartford 51
RECORDS: Hartford (4-8), GW (10-3)
LOCATION: Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, D.C.)
ATTENDANCE: 915

THE LEAD: The University of Hartford women's basketball team was unable to hold off George Washington University in its first game in eight days, as the Colonials came out on top in an 82-51 decision. Leading the Hawks in scoring for the third-straight outing was junior Deanna Mayza, who joined sophomore Darby Lee in double figures with 10 points. Adding a team- and career-best nine assists, Mayza eclipsed 300 on her career in the first quarter and went on to move into fifth place in the category in Hartford's record books. Caira Washington led the Colonials with a game-best 19 points while Jonquel Jones pulled down 12 rebounds.

FIRST HALF:
The Hawks and Colonials exchanged blows to open up the game. The largest lead of the first quarter, a three-point margin, was reached by both sides, with a Mayza triple followed by a layup from junior Alyssa Reaves providing the Hawks with the 17-14 edge with 4:01 to go. Hartford held on to that lead until the final seconds of the stanza, as Hannah Schaible's layup with six seconds left capped a brief, quarter-ending 4-0 spurt that put GW on top by a narrow, one-point margin (22-21). Hartford connected on a trio of three pointers during that quarter, as senior Katelyn Skinner, who finished with eight points, started the game with a 2-of-2 effort from long range.

GW built on that run in the second quarter, as it opened the stanza by scoring four more unanswered points on back-to-back jumpers from Schaible. That rally ignited a 16-4 Colonials' run that extended the home team's advantage to 13 points at 38-25 with 3:57 remaining before the break. Schaible and Mei-Lyn Bautista did most of the damage for GW during that six minute stretch, as they combined for 10 of their team's 16 points. The offense would continue to fall for GW, as it took a 46-30 lead into the halftime break.

During that opening half, the Hawks, who shot 43.3 percent from the field, recorded assists on all but one of 13 made baskets. Skinner's eight points led Hartford, while Mayza handed out eight of her nine dimes during that stretch.

SECOND HALF:
Two key runs, both of which featured rallies of eight unanswered points over the opening 90 seconds and final 68 seconds of the quarter allowed GW to cushion its lead. Limiting the Hawks to just three field goals during that 10-minute stretch, the Colonials pulled away at 62-36 by the end of the session. Kelli Prange provided GW with that 26-point advantage by hitting a triple with six seconds remaining.

Hartford had a strong start to the fourth, as it outscored the Colonials, 7-2, over the first two and a half minutes. That spurt closed the gap down to 64-43, but the Hawks would not shave any more points off their deficit. Going off for nine unanswered points over a three minute span, GW pushed the lead to 30 with 2:36 to go to put the game away.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• In the opening half, Hartford recorded assists on all but one of its 13 made buckets.
• During that stretch, the Hawks shot 43.3 percent from the field (13-of-30) to GW's 46.2 percent effort (18-of-39).
• Overall, Hartford shot 37.9 percent (22-of-58) and had 18 assists on 22 of its field goals.
• Two Hawks registered double-figures in scoring as Mayza and Lee each netted 10 points.
• GW made 13 more trips to the charity stripe than the Hawks, and cashed in on 11-of-16 attempts for 68.8 percent.
• GW managed to cash in on Hartford's miscues, as it scored 16 points off 14 turnovers.
• Pulling down 60 boards, including 30 on the offensive end, the Colonials scored 20 points off second-chance opportunities.
• Douglass, a freshman, notched a career-high in scoring with six points on an old-fashioned three-point play and a triple.

NEWS & NOTES:

• With her fourth assist of the contest, which came in the first quarter, Mayza eclipsed the 300 assist mark.
• Mayza finished the game with nine assists, matching a career-high. In addition, with 305 dimes on her career, she moved into fifth place in Hartford's record books.
• Leading the team in scoring for the third-straight contest with 10 points, Mayza has netted double-digits eight times this season and 36 times over her career.

UP NEXT:                                                                     
Hartford opens up 2016 with its non-conference finale at Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Jan. 2. The first-time meeting between the Hawks and Eagles tips off at 7 p.m. and will be aired live on ESPN3.