THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: No. 6 Hartford 74, No. 3 UMBC 40
RECORDS: Hartford (17-13); UMBC (15-15)
LOCATION: Cross Insurance Arena (Portland, Maine)

THE LEAD:

A fast start led the sixth-seeded University of Hartford women's basketball team to a quarterfinal upset on Saturday evening, as the Hawks dropped third-seeded UMBC, 74-40, in the first round of the America East Championship at Cross Insurance Arena. Four Hawks scored in double figures in the win, led by senior Deanna Mayza's game-high 21 points.

Junior Darby Lee, who tied an America East record with an 8-for-8 performance from the field, compiled a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds while sophomore Lindsey Abed (12 points) and senior La'Trice Hall (10) rounded out the Hawks' top scorers. Hartford, which tied an America East quarterfinal record with 12 three-pointers, never trailed in the game after opening the contest with a 10-0 run.

Laura Castaldo paced the Retrievers with 10 points while Pandora Wilson and Te'yjah Oliver each added seven.

FIRST HALF:
Hartford came out of the gates firing, shutting out the Retrievers to jump out to a quick, 10-0 advantage five minutes in. Hall contributed two-straight makes from long range to that spurt, which featured six-straight misses from the field by UMBC. McGrath ended the Hawks' run and put the Retrievers on the board with a three at the 4:31 mark, but Hartford pushed its lead to 17-5 by answering with a 7-2 spurt. The Retrievers managed to trim their deficit to eight before the end of the stanza as Laura Castaldo hit a three in the final seconds to close the gap to 19-11.
 
A stellar second quarter on both ends of the court allowed the Hawks to take a 15-point edge at 36-21 at the break. Opening up the stanza with a 9-2 run capped by a Harrison jumper with 5:41 left, Hartford held UMBC to just one more field goal – a Castaldo three – for the remainder of the half. With 1:56 to go, the lead grew to 36-15 behind an Abed three and a Lee jumper. Despite spotting the Retrievers six-straight points from the free-throw line over the final minutes, Mayza provided the 15-point edge with an NBA-range three with 11.0 seconds to go.
 
SECOND HALF:
UMBC opened the half with a three-pointer from Te'yJah Oliver, but Hartford silenced the Retrievers by rallying for 11-unanswered points to extend their lead to 23 at 47-24 with 7:12 to go. Lee contributed four to that run, which was fueled by another Abed triple. The Hawks continued to control the quarter, taking a 51-29 advantage with 3:31 left, before UMBC cut into its deficit with a 7-0 rally. That spurt would close the gap to 15, but Mayza knocked down another three-pointer to extend the lead to 54-36 at the end of the third.

That three provided the Hawks with even more momentum heading into the final quarter. Draining its next four attempts from behind the arc, Hartford opened the stanza with an impressive 16-0 run to expand the lead to 34 points at 70-36. The Retrievers were held without a field goal for the entire fourth quarter, scoring just three points in the final 2:37 from the free-throw line.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Mayza (5) and Abed (4) combined for nine of the Hawks' 12 three-pointers, combining to shoot 50 percent from behind the arc.
• Lee was unstoppable from the field, making each of her eight attempts to tie Maine's Jamie Cassidy 8-for-8 (1997) for the America East record.
• Hartford shot a season-best 49.2 percent from the field (30-of-61), including 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from long range.
• A season-best three Hawks handed out five-or-more assists in the contest as Lee (5) and Abed (5) joined Mayza, who dished out a game-best six. Overall, Hartford notched assists on 21-of-30 buckets.
• The Hawks were stellar defensively as well, conceding the fewest points in a game this season while holding the Retrievers to 22.4 percent shooting from the field.
• The Hawks held Taylor McCarley, the America East's fourth-leading scorer, to just one field goal and two points. She entered the contest averaging 13.9 points per game.

NEWS & NOTES:

• Advancing to the semifinal round of the America East Championship for the fourth time in the last five years, Hartford improved to 4-3 against the No. 3 team.
• With the win, the Hawks will be playing in the semifinals for the 11th time in the last 12 years.
• Hartford improves to 24-8 in the all-time series with UMBC.

 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks will take on No. 2 UAlbany in the semifinal round of the America East Championship on Sunday, March 5. Tipoff from Cross Insurance Arena is slated for 4:30 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Scott Sudikoff and Helen Williams on the call.