The Hartford and Vermont women's basketball teams each won games Sunday afternoon and earned an edge over their opponent in the America East standings.
In a nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network, the Hawks (18-10, 9-5 AE) defeated the Retrievers 66-71 to move a game ahead of UMBC (14-13, 8-6 AE).
Hartford freshman Amber Bepko finished with a career-high 18 points and shot 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Junior teammate Ruthanne Doherty tallied a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawks hit 9-of-20 three-point attempts while holding the Retrievers to 1-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
Vermont earned a split in the season series against Maine with a 71-54 victory on Senior Night in Burlington. The Catamounts moved half a game above the Black Bears in the standings in seventh place and would own a tie breaker over Maine should the two teams finish even due to the Catamounts' win over Hartford.
Vermont senior Ashley Hoyt finished one rebound shy of her second double-double in as many games with 13 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Niki Taylor led all Vermont scorers with 16 points, while Corinne Wellington came off the bench to lead the Black Bears with 16 points as well.
Sunday, Feb. 19
*at Hartford 66, UMBC 54 (CBS Sports Network) l Boxscore l
*at Vermont 71, Maine 54 (WCAXtra) l Boxscore l
Saturday, Feb. 18
*New Hampshire 63, at Stony Brook 46 l Boxscore l
*Albany 48, at Boston U. 41 l Boxscore l