Jan. 16, 2010

 

Box Score

Senior F Jen Valente (Prospect, CT) scored 18 points - including 14 in the pivotal second half - as UMass Lowell defeated American International College, 68-64, Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

The victory was the third straight for the River Hawks, who improved to 10-5 overall and 6-5 in the NE-10 entering Tuesday's home clash against Le Moyne (5:30).

AIC slipped to 6-10 overall and 4-7 in the NE-10 and visit Stonehill Tuesday at 5:30.

Valente converted 8 of 9 free throws, all but one in the second half, and also grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore Sha'nay Bushner (Akron, OH) added 12 points and nine rebounds as she converted 5 of 9 field goal attempts.

"J.V. (Valente) has been consistent for us," said UML Head Coach Kathy O'Neil, who earned win No. 396 for her career. "She has been playing with confidence."

Senior G Amanda McGrew (Santa Monica, CA) came off the bench to chip in 11 points and five steals, including a pair of key treys in the second half.

Sophomore F Rhea Pascal (Pickering, ONT) led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points on 6-9 field goal shooting while senior G Kristin Boesenberg (Pocono Pines, PA) added 11 points and five rebounds and sophomore G Michelle Lafond (Holyoke, MA) 10 points.

UMass Lowell outscored AIC 29-11 at the free throw line, hitting 29 of 33 attempts to AIC's 11-19. The advantage buffered AIC's .400 field goal shooting (24-60) opposed to UMass Lowell's .333 (18-54).

The Yellow Jackets were whistled for 29 fouls on the day (UMass Lowell for 18) and had four players draw their fifth foul within the final 3:30 of the game.

AIC led 40-32 with 11:37 left to play when Boesenberg drained a 3-point bomb, but UMass Lowell answered with a 20-6 run to post a 52-46 lead with 4:08 remaining.

Freshman G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, CT) scored all seven of her points in the run while McGrew added five points.

The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to 57-55 on a conventional 3-point play by Pascal, but Valente scored four points in a 6-1 spurt to give UMass Lowell a 63-56 lead with 39 seconds remaining.

Four free throws by senior G Rahshala Valentine (Cincinnati, OH) and one by McGrew over the final 19 seconds kept AIC at bay.