BALTIMORE – UMBC's ninth annual Midday Madness drew a women's basketball program record crowd of 3,098 fans into the RAC Arena in Wednesday afternoon's America East matchup, but the Retrievers were unable to take advantage of the home court advantage, falling 60-47 to New Hampshire.

UMBC took a season-high 60 shots and turned the ball over a season-low six times, but the Retrievers hit just 26.7 percent of its shots in the opening half and 33.3 percent for the game. Sophomore center Bridget O'Donnell scored all of her team-high 12 points in the second half and chipped in a game-high four blocks, while classmate Liz McNaughton (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) earned UMBC's America East Player of the Game honors after narrowly missing out on her first collegiate double-double, finishing with nine points and a career-high nine rebounds.    

New Hampshire improves to 8-7 on the season and remains unbeaten in America East play (2-0 AE), while the Retrievers drop their third straight contest to fall to 2-14 overall and 1-3 in league action.  

UMBC started out the afternoon struggling from the floor, hitting its first shot but missing its next 12 attempts. The Retrievers' defense held strong, allowing the black and gold to take advantage with an 8-0 run to give the UMBC back the lead, 14-13, with 7:36 to go in the first half.

UMBC's streaky shooting continued throughout the first half, allowing the Wildcats to outscore the Retrievers 14-4 in the remainder of the period to give UNH a 27-18 lead at the break. The black and gold shot 26.7 percent from the floor in the frame but pulled down nine of its season-best 12 offensive rebounds. McNaughton tallied seven points and seven rebounds in the opening half, while freshman forward Amanda Hagaman (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) came off the bench to chip in six points and four rebounds. Hagaman would hit four-of-seven shots and finish the contest with eight points and five boards.  

Despite the Wildcats extending their lead into double-digits in the opening minutes of the second half on a trey from UNH's America East Player of the game Sarah-Marie Frankenberger, a pair of buckets from freshman forward Sara Tarbert (Delta, Pa./Kennard-Dale) and O'Donnell helped to cut the Retrievers deficit to six, 32-26, with 17:04 to go. Unfortunately, UMBC would not come any closer, as senior guard Kelsey Hogan and red-shirt sophomore Corinne Coia combined for 13 of the game's next 15 points to help UNH open up a 15-point advantage, 43-28, with 9:14 remaining, a deficit the Retrievers were unable to overcome.

Coia led all scorers with 14 points, while Frankenberger hit 5-of-10 shots from 13 points.

UMBC hits the road for a pair of contests over the long weekend, starting with a rematch of the America East Quarterfinal contest at Vermont at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18. The Retrievers have a short turnaround, traveling to Stony Brook for a 2 p.m. matchup on Monday, Jan. 20.

Game Notes
-This year's Midday Madness was sponsored by Severn Bank, Chick-fil-A, Sweet Frog, Head Graphics and Signs by Tomorrow. The event, which welcomes local elementary and middle school students to campus, has averaged 2,009 fans since it started in 2006. The Retrievers are 4-5 in Midday Madness contests at the RAC Arena.
-UMBC holds a 12-10 advantage in the all-time series versus New Hampshire.
-The Retrievers' six turnovers was its lowest total since March 4, 2012 when it surrendered the ball five times versus Boston University.
-UMBC matched its season-high of six blocked shots.