Stuart Records 12 Points, Four Blocks in 57-52 Loss to UMBC

Sunday, February 6

Durham, N.H.

12 PM

University of New Hampshire

UMBC

Photo by: Andrew Yourell

2/6/2022 3:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

PHOTO GALLERY
DURHAM, N.H. – Sophomore Adara Groman (Hopkinton, Mass.) led three UNH double-digit scorers with 14 points, but the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team was edged 57-52 by UMBC at Lundholm Gym on Sunday afternoon.

Sophomore Bella Stuart (Clifton Park, N.Y.) recorded 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a career-high four blocked shots. Junior Brooke Kane (Derry, N.H.) finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and game-high nine rebounds.

Freshman Kenzie Matulonis (Raynham, Mass.) pulled down a career-high nine rebounds and led all players with five assists; she also had four points and three steals.

UMBC, which trailed 48-31 in the closing seconds of the third quarter, was led by Janee'a Summers' 25 points. Keelah Dixon was the other Retriever in double figures with 10 points. Alexa Nelson finished with nine points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

UNH, which was limited to eight players and one coach because of COVID-19 protocols, moves to 4-16 overall and 1-8 in America East. UMBC is now 2-15, 1-6.

New Hampshire returns to action Feb. 9 (7 p.m.) at NJIT. The Wildcats' next home game is Feb. 12 (12 p.m.) against Binghamton University.

WATCH VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

With the score tied 8-8, Stuart scored back-to-back baskets as part of a 6-0 run that gave UNH a 14-8 lead at 2:00 of the first quarter.

The 'Cats took a 16-12 lead into the second quarter, pushed the margin to seven points, 21-14, at 6:00 and led by a seven-point margin, 31-24, at halftime as Matulonis stole the ball and went the length of the court for a layup that beat the buzzer.

Groman's right-baseline jumper extended the advantage to double digits, 35-24, at 7:37 of the third quarter.

UMBC responded with four quick points to trim the deficit to six points, but then Groman made consecutive baskets and Stuart made a pair of layups to fuel a 13-2 spurt that extended UNH's lead to 48-31 with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.

With one second on the clock, the 'Cats were whistled for a shooting foul and were also assessed a technical foul. Nelson made 3 of 4 free throws to lift UMBC within 48-34.

The Retrievers continued to chip away and trimmed the deficit to single figures, 50-43, on Summers' 3-pointer at 4:58. She hit another 3-ball to make it a one possession game, 50-48, with 2:43 remaining.

Stuart's turnaround jumper in the lane gave UNH a 52-48 lead at 1:10, but Summers' third 3-pointer of the quarter lifted UMBC within 52-51 with 54 seconds to play.

Summers stole the ball and made two free throws to give the Retrievers their second lead of the game, 53-52, with 21 seconds left.

UNH called time out, but then lost the ball with 13 seconds on the clock. A series of Wildcat fouls led to a pair of free throws for Danae Marquez. She made them both to push UMBC's lead to 55-52 with nine seconds to play.

Without a timeout, the 'Cats inbounded the ball and quickly advanced the ball upcourt, but turned the ball over and Nelson made a layup at the buzzer to secure the victory.

UMBC scored the first points of the game on a Summers 3-pointer and led for 72 seconds before New Hampshire went ahead 4-3 at 8:38. Other than the aforementioned 8-8 tie, UNH remained in front until the final 21 seconds of the game. The Wildcats led for a total of 37 minutes, 45 seconds in comparison to UMBC's 1:33.

Summers ignited the visitor's comeback with 13 fourth-quarter points; she was 3-for-4 from the floor (all on 3-point attempts) and a perfect 4 of 4 at the foul line in that period.