FINAL SCORE: Hartford 51, Vermont 47
BURLINGTON, Vt. – UVM dropped a close America East matchup 51-47 to Hartford on Saturday afternoon at Patrick Gym. Vermont falls to 5-12 (0-4) on the season and the Hawks improve to 6-10 (2-1).
 
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"This game was such a hard-fought contest and I am disappointed for my team that we came out on the losing end," said head coach Lori Gear McBride. "Our defense in the second half was excellent, we were just a couple of key buckets short."
 
Andreana Thomas set the tone for Vermont's offense by collecting a team-best 21 points and eclipsed the 20-point mark for the third time this season. Thomas grabbed four steals and pulled down seven rebounds. Courtney Wright doubled her rebounding average as she registered a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Janelle Harrison and La'Trice Hall each finished in double-figures for the Hawks, as Harrison recorded 18 points and Hall posted 10 points. Lindsey Abed registered a game-high five steals and grabbed five rebounds.
 
The tip went in favor of Vermont, but the Hawks strung together a 13-5 run and jumped to an early 15-10 lead midway through the first quarter. Courtney Wright knocked down a pair from the foul line and Thomas drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to chip away and Hartford held a 21-17 advantage after one quarter.
 
Rookie Lauren Handy connected on a pair of three's in the second quarter, but Harrison finished the second period with 14 first-half points as Vermont trailed the Hawks by 10 (37-27) at the half.
 
Thomas and Kylie Atwood hit back-to-back triples as the Catamounts went on an 8-0 run to open up the third quarter, bringing UVM within a single possession (37-35) of Hartford. Thomas drained another pull-up jumper and the Catamounts were once again within two of the Hawks (44-42) heading into the final quarter.
 
The fourth quarter went down to the wire and it remained a single-possession game. Thomas hit a key jumper to tie the game at 46 apiece with 2:19 remaining and the teams traded trips to the line. Thomas missed a late runner with a chance to tie the score, and Hall drew a foul that sent the Hawks to the charity stripe to solidify their narrow, four-point victory.

"Dre (Thomas) really carried us in the second half, especially coming back from being down 10," McBride noted. "Gracia and Courtney were also instrumental defensively, coming up with big rebounds."

Vermont has a quick turnaround and heads to Lowell, Massachusetts to face UMass Lowell on Monday (Jan. 18). Tip-off against the Riverhawks is set for 1 p.m. Radio coverage begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com. All conference games can also be viewed for free via AmericaEast.tv.