LOWELL, Mass. – Hartford women's hoops pushed its winning streak to seven games, as they topped UMass Lowell, 66-44, on the road Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior Lindsey Abed had a game-high 23 points and freshman Jordan McLemore scored a career-high 11 points, as the league-leading Hawks improve to 12-7 on the year and stay perfect in the America East at 5-0. Freshman Kharis Idom finished with a team-high 17 points, as the River Hawks fall to 6-13 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
 
HARTFORD 66 UMASS LOWELL 44
Abed came out firing from the jump, scoring the first 12 points of the game for Hartford, pushing the Hawks to a 12-5 lead with 4:49 remaining in the opening quarter. Hartford continued to control the opening period, finishing on a 12-5 run for the 23-9 lead after one. 
 
It was more of the same in the second quarter as McLemore got hot from three, shooting a perfect three-for-three from deep, to finish the half with a career-high 11 points and send the Hawks to the locker room with the 42-20 lead. Hartford shot 53.3 percent (16-30) in the first half, just missing its first half season-high total of 55.5 percent set against Louisville earlier this season.
 
The Hawks held the River Hawks to seven field goals in the second half, as Hartford closed the game out for its second straight victory over the River Hawks by 22 points, 66-44. Hartford once again paved its way to victory with pressure, scoring 24 points off of 31 UMass Lowell turnovers.
 
NEWS AND NOTES

• The Hawks set a school record with 26 steals, breaking the old record of 25 set 29 years ago against Columbia (Nov. 26, 1989)
• McLemore finished the game 3-5 from beyond the arc, for a career-high in made three pointers
• Hartford pushes its winning streak to seven games for its longest rally since the 2011-12 season, when the Hawks won eight straight games. 
• Sophomore Jade Young registered a career-high seven steals. Over her last three games, Young has averaged 4.7 steals per game
• The Hawks have been dominant on the defensive end to start America East play, holding opposing teams to 41.4 points per game through their first five conference games 
• At 5-0, Hartford is off to its best start in conference play since the 2009-10 Hawks rattled off 16 straight America East wins to go undefeated in America East play

 NEXT ON TAP
Hartford remains on the road to take on New Hampshire Wednesday night. Opening tip is at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.