SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Hawks women's basketball team opened up Conference of New England (CNE) play on Wednesday night falling to Western New England University by a 59-32 final. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Hawks got on the board first as sophomore Lauren Sabia (Simsbury, Conn.) forced a turnover and finished on the fast break. The Golden Bears would score the next five points, before freshman Emma O'Hare (Drexel Hill, Pa.) netted a mid-range jumper to keep the Hawks within one. Sophomore Ella Marchesani (Saddle Brook, N.J.) would also stop a Western New England run with a layup of her own, but Hartford struggled to score as the Golden Bears led by a 15-6 score headed into the second quarter. 
• Sophomore Ava Naszimento (Secaucus, N.J.) started the second quarter finishing a layup followed by a jumper from sophomore Kristen Trembley (Granby, Mass.) as the lead was cut down to 15-10. The Golden Bears would score the final seven points of the quarter as the lead was up to a dozen after the first half. 
• The Hawks netted four shots from the charity stripe as the Golden Bears extended the lead to 36-14 with 5:06 to play in the third quarter. Naszimento tipped in a bucket and finished another layup but Western New England continued to score in flurries bringing the score to 46-18 headed into the final 10 minutes. 
• Sabia started off the fourth quarter with her second bucket of the day, before sophomore Taryn Blevins (St. Louis, Mo.) poured in a triple as the lead was 48-23 in favor of the home team. Blevins netted another jumper with 5:52 to play as the lead stayed at 25. Hartford would get four free throws and then a pair of layups by freshman Mikaela Williams (Windsor, Conn.) as the Hawks fell by a 59-32 final. 

Inside the Numbers:

• Naszimento led the offense with seven points (3-6 FG, 1-3 FT) to go with four rebounds. Blevins tallied five points (2-8 FG, 1-6 3PT) and an assist, while O'Hare added four points (1-5 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-2 FT) and three rebounds. 
• Lily Hedge led the Golden Bears with 10 points (4-6 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-2 FT), seven rebounds and two assists. Sister Sophie Hedge added nine points (3-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-1 FT) and two rebounds. 
• The Hawks bench continues to bring scoring generating 22 points, while the Golden Bears had 32 non-starter points. Western New England got 20 points off of turnovers, while Hartford had 15 points off of steals. 

Up Next: 
The Hawks will host the University of New England on Saturday with a 1:00 PM start. 

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