Jan. 3, 2009

Box Score

LOWELL - Junior G Alexis Keller (Harrington Park, NJ) scored a game-high 21 points and meshed a 15-foot jumper at the horn as Saint Michael's defeated UMass Lowell, 63-62, Saturday in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

With the loss, UMass Lowell slipped to 5-6 overall and 2-4 in the Conference entering Tuesday's home clash against Le Moyne (5:30). Saint Michael's improved to 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the NE-10.

Senior C Revital Carmon (Bat-Yam, Israel) led the River Hawks with 18 points and eight rebounds while junior F Jen Valente (Prospect, CT) matched her season high of 17 points as she converted 6 of 12 field goal attempts.

Junior G Rahshala Valentine (Cincinnati, OH) chipped in 12 points for UMass Lowell, hitting 4 of 8 attempts from the field.

Keller converted 7 of 12 field goal attempts and all six of her free throws, scoring 17 of her points in the second half. Junior F Michelle Otey (West Sand Lake, NY) added 18 points, hitting 8 of 13 field goals, and grabbed eight rebounds.

Saint Michael's shot .560 in the second half (14-25) while the River Hawks struggled to a .333 clip (9-27). The Purple Knights also outscored the River Hawks 12-4 off the bench.

UMass Lowell enjoyed a 26-18 advantage in the paint, led by Carmon, the majority of whose points came on layups.

The River Hawks led 58-51 with 3:15 left to play, but a pair of free throws and a trey by Keller trimmed the lead to 58-56 with 1:48 remaining. UMass Lowell then jumped to a 62-58 cushion with 1:06 left behind a trey by Valentine, following a pair of free throws by freshman G Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale, CT).

Keller came back with another trey with 48 seconds left and the Purple Knights reclaimed possession after a 3-point attempt by sophomore G Tamaria Menefee (Drochester, MA) was blocked.

In the waning seconds, Keller weaved and got free on the foul line extended left and meshed the game-winner just as the horn sounded.