BANGOR, Maine –In the battle of the top two teams in the America East, Hartford women's hoops fell to Maine, 78-58, Wednesday night.
 
Senior Lindsey Abed scored a team-high 15 points, as the Hawks fall to 16-9 on the year and 9-2 in conference play. Senior Tanesha Sutton finished with a game-high 24 points, as the Black Bears improve to 18-7 overall and 11-1 in the America East.
 
MAINE 78 HARTFORD 58
After Hartford took a 5-3 lead early in the first quarter, Maine went on a 7-0 run capped off by two free throws from Sutton for a 10-5 advantage with 7:02 remaining period. The Black Bears continued to lead going into the second quarter, as the Hawks could only get within two on several occasions. Maine pushed its lead to seven, scoring the six of the final eight points of the half, to take a 35-28 lead into the locker room.
 
In the third quarter Hartford continued to chase the Black Bears, but cut the advantage to any less than six in the period. Maine pulled away in the final period, outscoring the Hawks 23-13, to secure the 78-58 victory.
 
NEWS AND NOTES

• Abed has scored in double figures in seven of her last eight games
• In her second straight game in the starting line up, senior Alexia Douglas finished just two short of her season-high with 14 points.
• With her 37 minutes played tonight, Abed has now recorded 3,772 career minutes and passes Maureen DiJulia (95-99) for the most minutes played in program history 
• Senior Kelly Douglass registered two steals to reach 100 thefts for her career
• It is the first time since the 2013-14 season that Hartford split the regular season series with Maine

 
NEXT ON TAP
Hartford remains on the road for a Saturday afternoon tilt against Vermont. Opening tip is 2 p.m. on ESPN3.