THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Maine 66, Hartford 60
RECORDS: Hartford (14-9, 5-5 AE); Maine (13-13, 6-5 AE)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)

THE LEAD:

The University of Hartford women's basketball team was unable to claw its way back from a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit, as it dropped a 66-60 decision to Maine at Reich Family Pavilion on Monday night. Junior Janelle Harrison led the Hawks in the defeat with 13 points, while freshman Sierra DaCosta added 12.
 
Julie Brosseau and Laia Sole provided sparks off the bench for Maine, which shot 47.1 percent in the game. Brosseau shot 50 percent from the field, including 4-of-9 from three, to finish with 17 points while Sole (8-of-12) led all scorers with 19 points. After trailing by one at the half, the Hawks vied for a comeback bid after the Black Bears pushed their lead to 12. Hartford pulled within two with three minutes left in the game, but was never able to get over the hump.



FIRST HALF:
The first part of the first quarter featured back-and-forth action, as the Hawks and Black Bears traded seven buckets to a 9-7 Maine advantage. But the Hawks put together the first true run of the game, rallying for six-unanswered points to push ahead, 13-9, with 2:48 left. Sole ended the run with a jumper, and the two sides traded four buckets, with a  Brosseau triple pulling Maine within one (17-16) at the end of the stanza.

Brosseau hit another three-pointer within the first minute of the second quarter, tying the game up at 19-all. That triple sparked a rally for the Black Bears, as they scored nine of the next 14 points to take a four-point lead at 28-24 with 5:37 left until halftime. A 5-0 run featuring a Harrison three-point play and a Darby Lee putback put Hartford back in front at 29-28, but the lead would change hands three more times before the end of the half, with a pair of Brosseau free throws with 9.2 seconds giving Maine the edge at 33-32.
 
SECOND HALF:
Maine came out hot out of the intermission, converting on four of its first five shots of the half to stretch its advantage to seven. The Hawks managed to trim the deficit down to four, but back-to-back three-pointers from Blanca Millan and Brosseau gave Maine its first double-digit lead at 50-40 with 1:23 left. After Harrison closed the gap with a layup, Brosseau put the Black Bears back in front by 12 (54-42), converting from long range before cashing in on 1-of-2 free throws on the same possession following a Hartford technical foul.
 
The Hawks showed life in the final quarter, opening the stanza with an 8-0 run fueled by a three-point play and a three-pointer from DaCosta to cut the deficit to four. The Black Bears answered back with five unanswered points, but Hartford mounted another run, scoring seven-straight to pull within two (59-57) with 3:31 remaining. A Sole jumper allowed Maine to extend the lead to four at 62-58 with 2:18 left, and despite three field goal attempts over two possessions, the Hawks were unable to get over that final hurdle.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Black Bears, who shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51) overall, were hot in the first three quarters, combining for a 21-for-41 effort (51.2%) during that stretch. Hartford held Maine to 3-of-10 shooting during its fourth-quarter comeback bid.
• Jalay Knowles matched a team-high in rebounding, pulling down six boards in just four minutes of action.
• Both teams struggled to take care of the ball, as Hartford committed 16 turnovers to Maine's 19.
•  Millan was the only Maine starter to register double figures with 14 points.
• Sophomore Lindsey Abed and Lee rounded out Hartford's top scorers with 10 points apiece.

NEWS & NOTES:

• The defeat snapped Hartford's four-game home winning streak, which dated back to the Hawks' league opener against Vermont on Jan. 7.
• Maine improved to 44-28 in the all-time series with its third-straight win against the Hawks.

 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks remain home to host UMBC on Thursday, Feb. 9, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. Posting an 80-73 victory in Baltimore last month, Hartford will be looking to complete the series sweet of UMBC.