Jan. 30, 2010

Box Score

Senior F Jen Valente (Prospect, CT) scored 15 points and senior G Amanda McGrew (Santa Monica, CA) added 14 as UMass Lowell defeated Southern Connecticut State University, 72-66 in overtime, Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball tilt at the Moore Fieldhouse.

The victory stopped a two-game slide for the River Hawks, who improved to 12-7 overall and 8-7 in the NE-10 entering Wednesday’s home clash against Saint Michael’s (5:30). UMass Lowell now shares sixth place in the NE-10 standings with Assumption (11-9, 8-7 NE-10).

The win was also the 398th career of Head Coach Kathy O’Neil, who is currently in her 25th season.

Southern Connecticut slipped to 10-10 overall and 7-8 in the Conference and falls to a tie for eighth place with New Haven (9-11, 7-8 NE-10).

Valente also grabbed six rebounds while McGrew meshed 4 of 8 attempts from 3-point range. Freshman C Sarah Bennett (Newark, OH) added a season-high 13 points along with 10 rebounds while shooting 5 for 9 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line.

Freshman G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, CT) chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and three assists while freshman G Brianna Calver (Shelby, OH) had 11 points (3-4 3-point FGs) and a season-high five assists.

“It was a strong team effort on the road,” said O’Neil. “Every game is important to us. We had strong contributions from Amanda, Bri and Sarah. Road wins are hard to come by in this conference. Southern Connecticut is a tough team and this was a good win for us.”

Junior F LaTisha Hatcher led Southern Connecticut with 18 points and nine rebounds while shooting 7-12 from the floor. Senior G Allyson Smith added 13 points and four assists while sophomore G Alex Fiola chipped in 10 points.

UMass Lowell outrebounded the Owls 44-36 overall but made the most of a 15-10 edge off the offensive glass, which results in a 17-9 lead on second chance points. The advantage buffered Southern’s 18-13 edge on points off turnovers, the result of 23 by UMass Lowell and 17 by the Owls.

The River Hawks fell behind 51-45 with 6:30 left to play, but used an 11-5 run to post a 63-56 cushion with 3:05 left to play. Calver and Simmons each nailed 3-point shots while Valente converted a conventional 3-point play off a steal to lead the run.

McGrew buried a jumpshot with 50 seconds left to give UMass Lowell a 56-54 lead, but an offensive rebound and put-back by Hatcher with 15 seconds left in regulation forced the extra session.

UMass Lowell opened the overtime with seven straight points – a trey by sophomore F Sha’Nay Bushner (Akron, OH) and free throws by Calver and Simmons – and never let the Owls within four points the rest of the way.