THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 72, UMass Lowell 59
RECORDS: Hartford (5-9); UMass Lowell (3-10)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
ATTENDANCE: 796

THE LEAD: Three players netted double-digits in scoring on Wednesday night, as the University of Hartford women's basketball team opened up America East Conference action with a convincing, 72-59 home win over UMass Lowell. Senior Mallory Shickora connected on five three-pointers to lead the Hawks with a career and game-high 17 points while sophomore Darby Lee finished with 16, one shy of her career-high. Also highlighting Hartford's individual performers was junior Deanna Mayza, who passed for 12 assists, a personal-best, and added 10 points for her first career double-double.

UMass Lowell, which never recovered from a 13-2, second-quarter run that provided the Hawks with a 10-point edge (30-20), was paced by a 17-point effort from Lindsay Doucette. Nicole Hayner (15) and Asia Mitchell-Owens (14) rounded out the top-scorers for the River Hawks.

FIRST HALF:
It took both teams awhile to settle in, as the first four possessions featured turnovers. From there, the Hawks started to get in to a groove, thanks to sophomore Darby Lee, who put the first four points of the game on the scoreboard on back-to-back possessions. La'Trice Hall added to the early lead, as she ran the length of the court for a layup to make it 6-0 with 6:06 to go. Hartford continued to apply the pressure defensively, holding UMass Lowell scoreless for the first six minutes, until Doucette put the River Hawks on the board with two-straight buckets. With the Hawks leading, 9-4, UMass Lowell took its first advantage of the game on back-to-back triples, before Mayza beat the buzzer with a floater in the paint to put the Hawks on top, 11-10, at the end of the quarter.

The lead changed hands twice to start the third quarter. Trailing by a single point at 18-17 with 6:55 to go, Hartford got hot and wheeled-off a 13-2 run. Two three-pointers from Shickora and one from Douglass fueled that spurt, a 2:35 stretch that put the Hawks in front by double-digits at 30-2- with 3:10 to go until the break. Before intermission, UMass Lowell managed to close that gap down to six (32-36), as it scored six of the final eight points of the half.
Shickora's nine points, all from long range, led the Hawks' scorers while Mayza had seven points to go along with six assists. Doucette netted 11 of her points during the first half, including six of the River Hawks' eight first-quarter points.

SECOND HALF:
The Hawks never relinquished their halftime advantage for the remainder of the game. Despite allowing UMass Lowell to linger in the opening minutes of the third, Hartford built upon a slim, 34-32 edge by rattling off nine unanswered points. Douglass, who knocked down a three-pointer in the first half, contributed back-to-back triples at the 6:15 and 5:27 marks before Lee capped the run off with a layup to make it a 43-32 advantage with 4:10 left in the third quarter.

Six of UMass Lowell's eight makes from long range came in the game's final 12 minutes, as the River Hawks attempted to claw back from their deficit. For each shot the visiting squad drained, though, the Hawks provided a counter. Down the stretch, UMass Lowell knocked down three shots from behind the arc in the final 2:39, but the Hawks kept the River Hawks at bay, as they used the charity stripe to hold their ground. The Hawks converted on 12-of-14 free-throw attempts to take their largest lead of the game (14) heading into the last 15 ticks of the contest.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Both sides shot well in the first half, as UMass Lowell went 48.0 percent from the field (12-of-25) to Hartford's 46.4 percent (13-of-28).
• Shickora matched her previous season-high (9 points) in scoring in the first half alone, as she knocked down a trio of three-pointers. Her nine points led the Hawks at the break.
• As a team, the Hawks went 4-of-6 from long range in the opening half as Shickora went 3-for-5 and Mayza was perfect in her lone attempt.
• Overall, Hartford took care of the ball, committing just nine turnovers. That marks a season-best performance for the Hawks.
• With the battle of the boards tied at 37-37, junior La'Trice Hall paced the Hawks' effort with eight.
• Hartford turned 12 UMass Lowell turnovers into 11 points and had a 6-0 advantage in fast-break points. The Hawks' bench also had the better of play, as they outscored the River Hawks by 13 points with a 17-4 edge
• From three-point land, the Hawks converted on half of their 16 attempts for a season-high 50.0 percent.
• Each of the nine Hawks who checked in the game recorded at least one point.
• Hartford's 72 points marks a season-best offensive performance. Prior to Wednesday, the Hawks' top scoring game came at Quinnipiac in a 71-69, overtime loss (Nov. 19, 2015).

NEWS & NOTES:

• With Wednesday's win, Hartford improves to 13-7 in America East openers and 4-1 against UMass Lowell.
• The victory also snapped the Hawks' six-game losing streak, which featured losses to Florida Gulf Coast, George Washington, Arizona State and Boston College.
• For the third time this season, the Hawks landed three players in double-figures, led by Shickora. Going 5-for-9 from long range, she added a 2-for-2 effort from the free-throw line to finish with 17 points.
• Shickora's five three-pointers are the most in a single game since Amber Bepko knocked down five in a regular-season meeting against Binghamton (Feb. 4, 2015).
• Handing out 12 assists, a career-best, and adding 10 points, Mayza compiled the first double-double of her career. It marks the Hawks' second-straight double-double as Alyssa Reaves had 15 points and 10 boards at Florida Gulf Coast.
• Mayza's 12 assists are two shy from the program's single-game record (14), which was achieved by Trish Slocum (Dec. 13, 1986) and Maureen DiJulia (Mar. 5, 1996).
• Also matching a career-high in scoring was Douglass, who went 3-of-4 for long range for nine points.
• Head coach Jen Rizzotti picked up her 310th career victory on Wednesday against the River Hawks.

UP NEXT:                                                                     
Hartford's next league contest lands the Hawks at home again, as they are slated to host the Binghamton Bearcats on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. Hartford has come out on top in five of the last six meetings, including a series sweep of the Bearcats in 2014-15.