FINAL SCORE: Hartford 68, Vermont 55
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. –
Sydney Smith led all scorers with 16 points and the Vermont bench combined for 19 but Hartford countered with four players in double figures as the Catamounts fell 68-55 at Chase Arena in America East action on Saturday.
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Kristina White followed Smith closely with 15 points of her own after a 5-for-12 day from behind the arc.
The two sides played a closely-contested opening 10 minutes that saw six lead changes. After Hartford's Lindsey Abed and Darby Lee netted the game's first four points, the Catamounts responded with a pair of 3-pointers via Smith and White by the 8:20 mark of the quarter. The remainder of the frame saw both teams trade baskets, with neither squad leading by more than two until Alyssa Reaves buried a jumper to give the Hawks a 14-11 advantage with 1:22 on the clock.
Vermont amassed four blocks in the first quarter, including a quick pair in the 8-minute window when
Hanna Crymble and
Candice Wright denied Sierra DaCosta and Lee over a four-second span.
The Hawks managed to build momentum in the second quarter after stringing together a 13-2 run over more than six minutes. Smith hit a jumper from the free throw line with 5:48 remaining in the half, but Hartford overpowered the Catamounts during the stretch with nine points at the line. UVM tallied seven of the game's last 12 points before the break, going into the locker room with a 32-21 deficit.
White paced the Catamounts' scoring with nine in the third quarter while Crymble pulled down three rebounds, but the effort was not enough to offset Hartford's defense which took the ball away eight times and converted that number into 15 points.
"I'm truly disappointed in the amount of turnovers we had which was the difference in the game," said head coach
Chris Day. "However, I am really proud of the effort of our kids off the bench. They played extremely hard."
With the result, Hartford is now 10-4 on the season (1-0 America East), while the Catamounts are 4-10 (1-1 America East).
The Green and Gold now return home and will prepare to meet conference rival Binghamton on Wednesday (Jan. 11) with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m. at Patrick Gymnasium.