Belanger Records Fourth Double-Double, Women's Hoops Falls 48-44 at Hartford

Sunday, January 24

West Hartford, Conn.

12 PM

University of New Hampshire

7-12, 1-5AE

University of Hartford

8-11, 4-2AE

New Hampshire

Hartford

Belanger Records Fourth Double-Double, Women's Hoops Falls 48-44 at Hartford

1/24/2016 3:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HARTFORD, Conn. - Senior Elizabeth Belanger (Acton, Mass.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season, but the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to the University of Hartford by a score of 48-44, Sunday afternoon at Chase Arena.

The Wildcats dropped to 7-12 overall and 1-5 in America East. The Hawks improved to 8-11 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

New Hampshire stays on the road to take on the University of Vermont on Wednesday, Jan. 27 (7 p.m.). The team returns home for a game against UMBC on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. Limited tickets are available by visiting www.UNHWildcats.com or calling 603-862-4000.

Belanger notched her fourth consecutive game in double figures with 13 points and moved into ninth place on the all-time scoring list (1,260), passing Theresa Redmond at 1,252. She also pulled down 11 rebounds, tallied three steals, two assists, and two blocks. Junior Kristen Anderson (Greene, Maine) chipped in nine points, while sophomore forward Carlie Pogue (Cincinnati, Ohio) added seven points, four rebounds, and two blocks of her own.

For the Hawks, junior Darby Lee nailed big shots, shooting 9-11 from the field and recording 23 points on the afternoon.

The Wildcats carried a three-point lead into the fourth quarter, but was unable to score for 5:43. During that time, the Hawks engineered a 7-0 run including a key three pointer from sophomore Mary Pattinson.

With under a minute to play, Hartford maintained a five-point cushion until Belanger knocked down a long three to pull the Wildcats within two. The 'Cats then sent Lindsey Abed to the line, where she made one of her two shots. A Pogue layup with 22 seconds on the clock brought the Wildcats within one, but the Hawks knocked down several free throws in the closing seconds to secure the win.

UNH found its rhythm in the second quarter, after a tough first frame filled with turnovers by both teams. The 'Cats put together a 10-0 run, started by treys from Belanger and sophomore Aliza Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.). Ensuing jumpers from Belanger gave her enough points to move up the career-scoring leaderboard. Hartford was able to hang with the Wildcats, and found itself down by just one at the half.

The third quarter featured back and forth play, with four lead changes. Six of Hartford's ten points in the quarter came from the free throw line. Regardless, the 'Cats were still able to increase their lead to three with six Wildcats recording baskets, led by Belanger with three points.

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