THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 75, UMass 56
RECORDS: Hartford (6-2); UMass (4-3)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)

THE LEAD:
A season-best five Hawks scored in double figures on Wednesday night, as the University of Hartford women's basketball team rolled past visiting UMass in a 75-56 decision inside of Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. Led by a career-high 15 points from freshman Jess Camarda, the Hawks put the pedal to the metal in the second quarter and never looked back after taking a 43-17 lead at the half.

Jessica George, Ryan Holder and Maggie Mulligan combined for all but four of the Minutewomen's points in the losing effort. Holder had 19 points while Mulligan added 16 to go along with a game-best 17 rebounds.

FIRST HALF:
A plethora of turnovers forced by the Hawks on the defensive end led to Hartford taking an early lead over UMass in the first quarter. A 6-0 spurt fueled by six points from senior Alyssa Reaves broke open a 3-3 game and put the Hawks in front by a 9-3 margin. The Minutewomen cut that deficit down to three points at 10-7 with 1:41 to go, but Hartford closed out the stanza with a jumper by junior Janelle Harrison and a three-pointer from sophomore Kelly Douglass to take a 15-7 edge.

Hot shooting from long range allowed the Hawks to extend their lead to more than 20 points during the second quarter. During that stretch, Hartford shot a sizzling 77.8 percent from three, making 7-of-9 attempts. Four of those triples came during the opening five minutes, including three from Camarda, in a stretch that saw the Hawks take a 32-11 advantage with a 17-4 run. The three ball continued to fall, as makes from DaCosta, Douglass and senior Deanna Mayza sent Hartford into the locker room 26-point lead (43-17). Overall, Hartford outscored UMass, 28-10, in that decisive second quarter.
 
SECOND HALF:
Both sides traded buckets to open the third, as Hartford expanded its lead to 27 points with a three-pointer from Mayza making it a 53-25 game with 5:45 remaining in the stanza. The Hawks continued to rally, scoring seven unanswered points, including another Douglass three, to go up by 33 (60-27) at the 2:33 mark.
 
But UMass picked up some ground, ending the third with a 7-0 run before opening the final quarter with a Holder layup to close the gap to 62-38. The Hawks were quick to respond, though, as three-pointers from Camarda on back-to-back three-pointers stretched the lead back to 30 at 70-40 with 6:46 to go. Down the stretch, the Minutewomen showed some life, ending the game with a 16-5 run to provide the final score of 75-56.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Mayza (11), DaCosta (11), Harrison (10) and Douglass (10) rounded out the Hawks' double-figure scorers.
• Mayza's double-digit outing marks her seventh this season while DaCosta, the reigning America East Rookie of the Week, has netted double figures in each of her last four outings.
• The Hawks' 43 first-half points marks a season-best offensive output.
• Netting 75 points, the second-most in a game this season, Hartford's offense has eclipsed the 60-point mark in each of its eight outings.
• Hartford, which converted on nine three-pointers in the first, finished the game with a season-high 14 makes from long range, marking the fifth-most by an America East squad in a single game.
• The 14 three-pointers are the most for an America East team since UMass Lowell hit 14 against Mount Ida on Nov. 24, 2014.
• The Hawks' bench poured in a season-best 42 points.
• Hartford scored 17 points off UMass' 25 turnovers.
• The ball was shared well by the Hawks, as a season-high 20 of the team's 27 field goals were assisted. Mayza's five helpers were a game high.
• As a team, Hartford also recorded season-best numbers in turnover margin ( 17.0), blocks (6) and steals (17).

NEWS & NOTES:

• Hartford has won four of its last five, including three-straight against Monmouth, Norfolk State and UMass.
• The Hawks closed the gap in the all-time series to one game, as UMass holds a slight, 8-7 advantage over Hartford.

 
UP NEXT:
An instate battle is on the docket for the Hawks, as they host Sacred Heart on Sunday, Dec. 4. Tipoff from Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion is slated for 2 p.m. Tickets for the game are available, and can be purchased by calling 860.768.HAWK or by visiting the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Ticket Office.