THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 91, Vermont 52
RECORDS: Hartford (15-12, 7-7 AE); Vermont (8-19, 5-9 AE)
LOCATION: Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (West Hartford, Conn.)
PHOTO GALLERY
 
THE LEAD:
 
Senior forward Darby Lee netted her 1,000th career point on Saturday as the University of Hartford women's basketball team upended the visiting Vermont Catamounts, 91-52, inside Reich Family Pavilion. Junior Lindsey Abed led all scorers with 24 points, knocking down a school-record eight three-pointers in the convincing victory.

Lee, who finished with 14 points, became the 17th player in program history to reach the milestone on a layup with 7:09 remaining in the third quarter. The Hawks rewrote the record books in the win, scoring the most points in a game since 1987, when Hartford dropped a program-record 99 points on Harvard. In addition, the Hawks shattered the school record in assists, set against UMBC in 2010, passing for 28 helpers on 35 field goals.


  
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• All five starters scored a bucket as Hartford opened the game shooting 5-of-6 from the field to jump out to a commanding 12-0 lead with 6:32 left in the first. A Janelle Harrison jumper sandwiched by a pair of Vermont three-pointers allowed the Catamounts to pull within eight, but three-straight long-range makes by Abed, Jade Young and Alexia Douglas went towards a 16-3 run that put the Hawks up by 20 (30-10) at the end of the first.
• Another hot start gave the Hawks a 30-point advantage with 6:44 left before the break. Lee and Harrison had four points apiece in that stretch as Hartford took its largest advantage of the half using a 13-3 run to open the stanza.
• A series of triples, including two from Josie Larkins, brought the Catamounts' deficit down to 21 with four minutes remaining, but Hartford's defense held Vermont to just three points from the free-throw line for the remainder of the half to take a 51-27 lead into the break.
• Three more triples – all from Cassidy Derda – within the first four minutes of the second half closed the gap to 16 (55-39) with 6:04 left in the third. But Hartford picked up the pace and dominated the remainder of the game, ending the stanza with a 14-9 run before opening the fourth with an 15-unanswered points to extend the lead to 36 with 4:01 left.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE & NOTES:
 

• Young, who handed out eight assists, finished with 17 points while Harrison rounded out the Hawks' double-figure scorers with 14.
• The Hawks got off to a hot start, netting the most points in an opening quarter (31) to put up a season-high 51 points in the first half.
• Hartford shot the ball extremely well, turning in a season-best 54.7 percent clip (35-of-64) from the field while holding Vermont to 33.3 percent shooting (16-of-48).
• The Hawks also had a hot hand from long range, shooting a season-best 52.2 percent on 12-of-23. The 12 triples are also a season high.
• Abed was unstoppable from three, going 8-of-10 on the afternoon.
• All but five of Vermont's 16 field goals came from three-point land, as the Catamounts made 11 triples in the contest.
• Sierra DaCosta made her first appearance since the Hawks' game at Fordham on Dec. 28, scoring three points while adding one steal and an assist in 10 minutes.
• Hartford held a 35-26 advantage on the boards.
• The Hawks scored 28 points off of 24 Catamounts' miscues.
• Derda and Larkins each knocked down four three-pointers to lead Vermont with 14 points apiece.

 
NEXT ON TAP:
Hartford hits the road for a mid-week tilt at UMBC on Thursday. The Hawks and Retrievers are slated for a 7 p.m. tip from Baltimore.