UMBC

Amanda Robinson tallied 19 points on Thursday night.

Indianapolis, Ind. – The UMBC women’s basketball team lost a 72-66 decision to Butler on Thursday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse as Butler rallied from a 17-point deficit for the win.  UMBC falls to 7-3 on the year while Butler moves to 4-5.

UMBC missed its first eight shots of the game, falling behind 7-0 until Matea Pender drained a trey at the 15:21 mark, sparking a 17-4 run by UMBC.  The Retrievers built a 16-point lead at one point in the half and went into the break leading 42-30. 

The Retrievers were 17-of-30 from the field in the first half, shooting 56.7 percent as Pender scored 12 points and Brittnie Hughes tallied 10 points.  UMBC dished out 16 assists in the opening stanza and after missing its first eight shots of the half, the Retrievers went 17-for-22 for a 77.3 field goal percentage over the final 15-plus minutes of the half. 

In the second half Amanda Robinson scored the Retrievers first five points as UMBC built a 17-point lead, 47-30, with 18:28 remaining on the clock.  The Bulldogs, however, began to charge back, going on an 8-0 run rescind the Retriever lead back to single digits at 47-38.

Butler closed the margin to five on an Ellen Hamilton three-point basket with 6:05 remaining.  Robinson responded with a lay-up at 4:40 to give UMBC a 64-57 lead.  UMBC would not hit another field goal until the closing seconds as Butler tied the game at 64-64 with 2:47 to play on a trey by Hamilton.

Butler went on to take the lead with a jumper by Carla Gheorghe at 1:43.  On the ensuing possession Hughes was called for her fifth foul of the game on an offensive charge, giving the ball back to Butler, who scored on its possession with a Stephanie Boek jumper with 25 seconds left to move the score to 68-64. 

Butler in the game went 21-for-22 at the free throw line, including 4-for-4 in the final seconds to seal the win.  UMBC, who was held to five free throw attempts off of 10 Butler fouls, was called for 20 fouls in the game with Hughes and Sharri Rohde both fouling out.

The Retriever finished with a 42.9 field goal percentage with Robinson scoring 19 points.  Pender finished with 13 points, all in the first half, while Hughes score 12 points and Kristin Drabyn tallied 10 off the bench.  UMBC handed out 22 assists in the game, led by seven from Erin Voss. 

Butler was led by 18 points from Hamilton, all coming in the second half.  Hamilton, who was 0-for-3 from outside the arc in the first period, went 4-for-5 from three-point land in the second half.   Gheorge finished with 12 points along with Lade Akande and Boeke scored 11 points for the Bulldogs. 

UMBC returns to action on December 30 with a 7:30 p.m. game at Navy.