BEVERLY, Mass. - The Hartford women's basketball team's struggles continued on Saturday dropping a Conference of New Engand (CNE) contest to Endicott College by a 68-62 final. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Hawks jumped ahead by a 11-2 margin headlined by four points for sophomore Ava Naszimento (Secacus, N.J.) and three points from sophomore Ella Marchesani (Saddle Brook, N.J.). The Gulls battled back with a 11-3 counter stopped by a jumper for sophomore Sidnee Bowden Canton, Ohio) to keep the Hawks in front 16-13 headed into the second quarter. 
• Marchesani and Bowden continued to be successful to start the second as Hartford pushed the lead back to 21-15. Endicott cut the lead to 25-19, but the Hawks countered with five-straight points capped off by an old fashioned three-point play by Bowden. The Gulls continued to chip away knotting the game at 32-32, but freshman Emma O'Hare (Drexel Hill, Pa.) finished a layup as time expired to put the visitors up two headed into the half. 
• The teams battled back and forth to start the third with Endicott bouncing in front 41-40 with 5:05 to play in the quarter. Back-to-back triples by freshman Mackenzie Hohulin (Plymouth, Mass.) pushed Hartford back ahead by five points, but the Gulls scored the last three points in the frame to trail by a 48-46 margin with 10 minutes to play. 
• Sophomore Lauren Sabia (Simsbury, Conn.) kicked off the fourth quarter rattling in a three followed by another layup as the Hawks held a 53-48 advantage with 8:55 to play. Bowden kept Hartford in front with a three-pointer at the midway point of the quarter, but the Gulls took the lead with a 7-0 run including five free throws to jump ahead 60-57. Bowden would net another trifecta with 20 seconds to play, but Endicott would hold on to win 68-62. 

Inside the Numbers:

• Bowden netted a season-high 14 points (5-9 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT) to go with five rebounds and a pair of blocks to lead the offensive effort. Marchesani tallied 12 points (3-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-6 FT), while Naszimento added 12 points (4-10 FG, 4-4 FT) and eight rebounds in the loss.
• Emma Shinney led the Gulls with 20 points (8-20 FG, 0-4 3PT, 4-8 FT), five steals and five rebounds. Tenley Wallin added 17 points (5-10 FG, 2-4 3PT, 5-6 FT) and three rebounds. 
• The Hawks bench continues to shine scoring another 28 points in the game, while Endicott's reserves scored 27 points.
• The Gulls used a pivotal 22-14 fourth quarter to pick up the win and improve to 6-2 in the CNE. Hartford falls to 5th place in the standing now 4-4 in CNE play. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will host Roger Williams University on January 22nd in the We Back Pat game starting at 5:30 PM. 

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