Nov. 16, 2008

LOWELL - Junior F Jen Valente (Prospect, CT) scored 15 points to lead UMass Lowell over Mercy College, 90-51, Sunday in the second round of the Valley Cup Classic Women's Basketball Tournament Sunday at the Costello Athletic Center.

With the win, UMass Lowell improved to 2-0 and opens Northeast-10 Conference play Wednesday at Franklin Pierce (5:30). Mercy slipped to 0-2.

In the earlier game, Bentley cruised to a 77-32 win over Felician College.

Valente converted 6 of 8 field goals and also grabbed four rebounds while senior C Revital Carmon (Bat-Yam, Israel) added 13 points and eight rebounds, hitting 6 of 12 field goal attempts.

Junior G Rahshala Valentine (Cincinnati, OH) added 13 points and six assists (4-8 field goal shooting) while senior F Antonnea Robinson (West Haven, CT) chipped in 13 points and six rebounds, shooting 5 for 10 from the floor.

Senior G Christine Baxter (Greenwood Lake, NY) led the Mavericks with 19 points and three assists while sophomore F Delmara Reece (Yonkers, NY) added 11 points and 15 rebounds.

UMass Lowell led 38-23 at the break and shot .571 in the second half (20-35) to open up the margin. The River Hawks enjoyed advantages in the paint (42-14) and off turnovers (30-7), forcing Mercy into 24 while committing 17.

The River Hawks also outscored the Mavericks 21-6 from long range, shooting 7-16 opposed to Mercy's 2-17.

UMass Lowell led 21-16 with 8:40 left in the first half, but ended the half with a 17-7 run for the 38-23 cushion. Robinson led the spurt with five points, including a conventional 3-point play, while senior G Lindsay Gundy (Concord, NH) added four points.