NEWARK, N.J. —  Senior forward Breyenne Bellerand led the Hawks with nine points, as the Hartford women's basketball team fell to NJIT, 65-51, inside the NJIT Wellness and Events Center on Sunday afternoon. 

With the loss the Hawks fell to 3-6 on the season and in the America East, while the Highlanders improved to 3-10 on the season and 3-6 in conference-play.

NJIT 65, HARTFORD 51
After much back-and-forth in the first quarter, Hartford took its first lead of the game after a Bellerand three-point play gave the Hawks a 13-12 lead with 3:12 to go in the first. However, NJIT scored twice in the final two minutes to carry a 16-13 advantage into the second.

After the Hawks cut the deficit to one, NJIT went on a 10-0 run to take a 29-18 lead, forcing a Hartford timeout midway through the second quarter. The Hawks responded with a 10-3 run out of the timeout to trim the deficit to four, however, NJIT's Lyzi Litwinko nailed a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to push the Highlanders lead to 35-28 into the break.

NJIT used the opening 5:30 of the second half to outscore Hartford 11-3, pushing its lead to 15 nearly midway through the third period, its largest margin of the game. Sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Jada Lucas and Abby Streeter, the Hawks outscored the Highlanders 8-2 in the final 4:25 of the quarter to cut the deficit to 48-39 entering the fourth quarter.

Trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter, Bellerand and Marisa Lee scored on layups to cut the Hartford deficit to seven with 4:16 remaining in regulation. However, NJIT responded with five consecutive points to push its lead to 10, eventually holding on for the 65-51 win over the Hawks.

INSIDE THE BOX AND NOTES

• Bellerand led the Hawks with nine points
• Jordan McLemore, Lee and streeter scored eight points apiece
• Nina Farkic added seven points and nine rebounds
• NJIT outshot Hartford 40.4 percent to 28.1 percent
• The Highlanders outrebounded the Hawks 44-38
• NJIT was led by Kenna Squier's 15 points

NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks will be back in action on Monday, Jan. 18, when they close the series against the Highlanders inside the NJIT Wellness and Events Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

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