SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  - The Hartford women's basketball team lost their first Conference of New England (CNE) match up of the season falling to Western New England University by a 74-62 final. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Hawks and Golden Bears traded threes to kick off the game, but Hartford would score the next six points capped off by a paint finish for junior Ava Naszimento (Secaucus, N.J.). WNEU would chip away at the Hawk lead tying the game at 12-12 before Naszimento and junior Kendall Rieman (Chicago, Ill.) each finished layups to keep the lead. The Golden Bears would respond again as the game was knotted at 18-18 headed into the second. 
• Rieman would knock down a three to keep Hartford in front by a 23-20 margin, but the Golden Bears would counter on a 10-2 run to take a 30-25 advantage with 2:01 to play in the half. Naszimento would get the final bucket in the half for the Hawks, but the home team responded with a pair of triples to lead 36-27 into the break. 
• Junior Ella Marchesani (Saddle Brook, N.J.) would score five points in the first three minutes of the third quarter, but Hartford still would trail by a 43-35 margin. Western New England would counter getting the lead 13 points with 4:15 to play. Junior Lauren Sabia (Simsbury, Conn.) would get her first bucket of the season to try and get Hartford back into the game, but the home team would lead by a 55-41 score with 10 minutes to play.
• Western New England would start the fourth fast generating buckets to get the lead to 21 points with 7:46 to play. Marchesani and Rieman would team up for a five-point spurt to cut the lead to 66-49, but the hosts kept the momentum pushing the lead to a game-high 23 point advantage. Hartford would close the game on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 12 with Western New England picking up the win. 

Inside The Numbers:

• Marchesani led the Hartford scoring with 19 points (5-12 FG, 4-8 3PT, 5-6 FT). Naszimento finished with 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-5 FT), four rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Rieman added nine points (4-7 FG, 1-3 3PT), five rebounds, three steals and two assists. 
• Sophie Hedge scored a game-high 24 points (9-15 FG, 4-6 3PT, 2-2 FT) to go with six boards. Perry Blasetti added 18 points (8-14 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-3 FT), five rebounds and five assists in the win.
• The Golden Bears held a 34-24 points in the paint advantage in the win while also out rebounding Hartford 39-25. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will host Gordon College on Saturday with a 1:00 PM tip. 

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