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Women’s basketball looks to earn first conference win at Hartford

Senior guard Nicole Hayner looks to stretch the Hawks’ defense with her three-point shooting capabilities. (Courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics)

Marlon Pitter
Connector Editor

The UMass Lowell women’s basketball team looks to earn their first America East victory of the season Saturday afternoon against the Hartford Hawks at Chase Family Arena in West Hartford, Conn.

The River Hawks enter the contest with a 3-13 record overall with an 0-3 record in conference play, and look to snap a three-game losing streak. Their most recent result was a 66-45 loss to Maine at Costello Athletic Center Wednesday night.

The Hawks, meanwhile, come in with an 11-4 overall record and a 2-0 in America East play, winners of their last four games. The Hawks defeated the UMBC Retrievers 80-73 on the road, with help from five double-digit scorers, to extend their streak Wednesday night.

Junior forward Kayla Gibbs leads the River Hawks in points and rebounds averaging 12.7 and 7.5 per game, respectively. Gibbs’s rebounding average is tied for first in the conference.

Senior guard Nicole Hayner and freshman Megan Hendrick will look to complement Gibbs’ paint presence with outside shooting, as the pair lead UMass Lowell in three-point percentage with 41.7 percent and 31.5 percent, respectively.

As a team, Hartford enters Saturday with the highest scoring offense in the conference, averaging 69.2 points per game. The Hawks are also tied with Maine for the best team field goal percentage in the conference at 40.4 percent and lead America East in assists, averaging 15.3 per game.

Hartford’s takeaway ability has shown the ability to disrupt opponents this season. The Hawks lead the conference in steals and are 17th nationally, averaging 12.1 per game. Their turnover margin, likewise, also leads America East at plus-7.3 per game.

While UMass Lowell has firepower from beyond the arc in Hayner – who ranks second in three-point percentage in America East – Hartford certainly has the ability to match that production.

Hartford senior guard Deanna Mayza leads the conference shooting 42.9 percent from deep, while sophomore guard/forward Kelly Douglass has made 41.5 percent of her three-point attempts this season, good for third in the conference. Their individual success mirrors the team’s ability to shoot from long range, as the Hawks rank eighth nationally in three-point shooting with 39.8 percent made.

The upcoming matchup could turn into an offensive battle, as both teams are at the bottom of the conference in points allowed and field goal percentage against this season.

Last time these teams met, the Hawks triumphed in a 75-70 contest that went into overtime despite a 28-point performance by then-UMass Lowell senior forward Lindsey Doucette at Costello Athletic Center on Feb. 3, 2016.

UMass Lowell is 1-5 all-time against the University of Hartford. The River Hawks’ lone win came at Chase Family Arena in a 65-62 victory on Feb. 14, 2015.

UMass Lowell and Hartford tip off from Chase Family Arena at 2 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

Marlon Pitter is a former editor-in-chief of the UMass Lowell Connector. Hailing from Hartford, Conn., he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in journalism and professional writing and a digital media minor in 2017. Follow him on Twitter @marlonpresents.

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