WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Despite jumping out to an early 10-point advantage, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team dropped its final road contest of the season, falling to Hartford, 69-45, on Saturday afternoon.
 
"I am really disappointed in our effort and lack of attention to detail," said Head Coach Tom Garrick. "We were passing the ball around today like we were trying to help Hartford run a fast break drill. We are going to have to go back to the drawing board and use Monday and Tuesday to get better for Wednesday."
 
Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) provided the offense for the River Hawks (7-21, 3-12), as Smith scored 19 and Rudolph added 10 in the defeat.
 
Hartford (19-9, 12-2) had four players reach double digits, led by Lindsey Abed's 20-point effort. Jade Young added 17, while Sierra DaCosta and Alexia Douglas scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
The beginning of the game went in favor of the visitors as Linda Svenne (Riga, Latvia) drained her first two threes, and the defense forced a pair of turnovers to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Following a Hartford timeout, UMass Lowell scored six of the next eight to build a 12-2 advantage with 4:52 left in the frame.
 
 A 7-0 run for Hartford closed the  gap to 12-9 entering the second quarter, and battled all the way back to take a 20-19 lead with 5:20 to play in the half.
 
After a Smith bucket regained the lead for the River Hawks, the hosts grabbed momentum with a 12-2 spurt and took a 32-23 buffer into the halftime break.
 
Hartford outscored UMass Lowell 23-7 in the third to create breathing room. Smith scored five in the frame to reach double-figures.
 
The River Hawks host Maine in their final game of the regular season on February 27 at 7 p.m. There will be a special pregame ceremony for the program's seniors before tip at the Tsongas Center.