THE BASICS:

RESULT: Binghamton 53, Hartford 47
RECORDS: Hartford (5-10, 1-1 AE); Binghamton (7-9, 2-1 AE)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
ATTENDANCE: 825

THE LEAD: Sophomore Janelle Harrison tallied 15 points and junior La'Trice Hall added 10, but the University of Hartford women's basketball team was unable to hold off the visiting Binghamton Bearcats as it suffered its first loss in America East action by way of a 53-47 decision.

Despite losing starting guards Mallory Shickora and Deanna Mayza to injury early in the game, the Hawks battled against the Bearcats. Facing a pair of deficits in the second half, including a seven-point disavantage midway through the fourth, the Hawks rallied back both times and took the lead at 41-40 with 3:21 left to play. But Binghamton's Imani Watkins would single handedly spoil Hartford's comeback bid. Knocking down an old-fashioned three-point play to give her team the two-point advantage with 2:03 remaining, she drained a three-pointer to provide the Bearcats with a 46-41 cushion heading into the final minute of action. Eleven of her game-best 19 points would come in the final two minutes as the Bearcats sealed the game from the free-throw line with a 7-for-8 effort down the stretch.

FIRST HALF:
The Hawks got off to a cold start from the floor, converting on just three of their first 14 shot attempts (21.4%), while misfiring on both of their three-point attempts. Binghamton capitalized on that sluggish start, as it closed out the opening stanza with a 12-2 run over the final 4:56 to take a seven point lead at 13-7 before the buzzer sounded.

Following a quick jumper from Hall to start the second, Binghamton put together another rally – this time a 6-0 spurt – to take its largest advantage of the game (11) with 3:55 remaining. Returning from injury after missing the Hawks' last eight games, Lindsey Abed ended a scoring drought of over six minutes with a three-pointer at the 3:18 mark to close the gap to eight points and provide what proved to be the halftime score of 19-11.

The Hawks, who were led at the break by Harrison's four points, combined to shoot just 16.7 percent over the first two quarters.

SECOND HALF:
The Hawks stormed back in the opening minutes of the second half, and quickly found themselves down by just a single point (20-19) thanks to an 8-0 run. Junior Alyssa Reaves got the offense going with a put back, which was piggybacked by back-to-back three-pointers by Abed and Katelyn Skinner. Following a Bearcats' layup from Rebecca Carmody, the Hawks completed the comeback as Hall and Harrison each converted on second-chance opportunities on two-straight possessions at the 5:10 and 4:00 marks. Harrison's putback put Hartford in front for the first time since three minutes in to the game at 23-22.

From there, the lead would change hands five more times before the end of the third, with the Bearcats owning the 31-28 advantage on five-straight points from Kim Albrecht.

After Hall closed the gap to one within the first 34 seconds of the fourth, Binghamton pushed its lead back up to seven at 39-32 with 6:47 to go using an 8-2 run. But the Hawks wouldn't go down easily, as they countered back and pushed ahead by one (41-40) by scoring nine of the game's next 10 points. The comeback – Hartford's second of the game – would be spoiled, though. Watkins, who went off for Binghamton's next 11 points, including nine-straight, converted on an old-fashioned three-point play with 2:03 remaining before knocking down a big three-pointer 50 seconds later. With Hartford forced to foul down the stretch, she went on to put the game away from the free throw line by making 5-of-6 attempts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Hawks shot just 21.4 percent in the first quarter (3-of-14). That number dipped to 16.7 percent as Hartford converted on just 2-of-16 during that 10-minute stretch.
• That number improved in the second half, as Hartford converted on 50.0 percent of its shots (14-of-28) over the final 20 minutes.
• Overall, Hartford shot 32.8 percent (19-of-58), including a 28.6 percent clip (4-of-14) from three.
• Binghamton cashed-in from the free-throw line, making 17-of-22 for 77.3 percent.
• The Bearcats were held two makes below their season average from three-point land, as they converted on just 2-of-11 shots for 18.2 percent. Overall, Binghamton shot 36.2 percent (17-of-47).
• Watkin's scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the final two minutes, helping the Bearcats erase a 41-40 deficit and take an eight-point edge by scoring nine unanswered for Binghamton. Alyssa James contributed a double-double for the Bearcats with 12 points and a game-best 13 rebounds

• Harrison's 15 points tied a career-high, which was set earlier this season in a two-point loss at Quinnipiac. Her seven rebounds marked a season-best effort.
• Hartford received 31 points from its bench, outscoring that of the Bearcats by 29 points.
• The Hawks also had 15 points off of second-chance opportunities.
• Wednesday's game featured 10 lead changes, eight of which came in the second half.

 
UP NEXT:                                                                     
Hartford plays on the road for the first time in America East action on Saturday, Jan. 16, as it heads to Vermont. The Hawks will be looking to extend an eight-game win streak against the Catamounts with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. inside of Patrick Gymnasium.