Dec. 30, 2008

Box Score

SAN DIEGO - Juniors Jen Valente (Prospect, CT) and Megan Berry (Ipswich, MA) were named to the All-Tournament Team as UMass Lowell defeated Mercyhurst, 70-60, Tuesday in the Surf & Slam Women's Basketball Classic second round at San Diego City College's Harry West Gym.

With the win, the River Hawks improved to 5-5 overall and host Saint Michael's Saturday at 2:00. Mercyhurst slipped to 4-5.

Senior Revital Carmon (Bat-Yam, Israel) led the River Hawks with 12 points and seven rebounds, shooting 5-7 from the floor while Berry also had 12 points on 4-8 field goal shooting. Sophomore G Tamaria Menefee (Dorchester, MA) added career-highs 11 points and five assists while senior F Shaina Berry (Friendswood, TX) chipped in 10 points, hitting 4-5 field goals.

Senior G Stephanie Prischak (Erie, PA) led the Lakers with 15 points and four steals while sophomore F Amy Achesinski (Butler, PA) added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists while shooting 5 for 8 from the floor.

The River Hawks forced 23 turnovers while committing 19, but outscored Mercyhurst 25-15 off mistakes.

UMass Lowell also outrebounded the Lakers 39-25 overall and 13-4 on the offensive glass, enabling for a 19-3 cushion on second chance points. Led by Carmon and Shaina Berry, the River Hawks outscored Mercyhurst in the paint, 40-12.

UMass Lowell's advantages snuffed out Mercyhurst's 30-15 advantage from behind the 3-point arc, led by three from Prischak.

The River Hawks led 44-33 shortly into the second half, but the Lakers used a 14-2 run to take a 47-46 lead with 15:10 to go. Prischak and sophomore G Janeale Ronai (London, OH) each converted a pair of 3-point goals to spark the run.

With the score knotted at 60-60 and 6:09 to play, the River Hawks finished the game with a 10-0 run and forced the Lakers into 0-4 shooting. Carmon led the spurt with four points, including a pair of free throws with 37 seconds left to give the River Hawks an eight-point cushion.