Feb. 17, 2010

Box Score

Audio Recap - The River Hawk Report - February 18, 2010

Photo Gallery: Senior Night

Sophomore G Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, MA) and freshman C Briana Szidat (Pelham, NH) came off the bench to combine for 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots as UMass Lowell defeated Bentley University, 64-61, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

The victory was UMass Lowell’s fifth in six games as it improved to 16-8 overall and 12-8 in the NE-10 entering Saturday’s clash at Saint Anselm (1:30). The win also marked UMass Lowell’s first over the Falcons since the 1994-95 season, ending a 23-game losing streak.

The loss halted a four-game winning streak for Bentley, which slipped to 18-7 overall and 16-4 in the Conference entering Saturday’s home clash against No. 1 Franklin Pierce (1:30).

As UMass Lowell celebrated Senior Night, senior G Rahshala Valentine (Cincinnati, OH) led the River Hawks in scoring with 13 points while senior G Amanda McGrew (Santa Monica, CA) also scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds while shooting 2 of 3 from long range and 4-4 from the free throw line.

Sophomore Sha’Nay Bushner (Akron, OH) chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and three steals while Kirwan added 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. Szidat chipped in season-highs of nine points, five blocked shots and three assists in addition to six rebounds.

Senior F Colette Josey (Boston, MA) led the Falcons with 21 points and nine rebounds while shooting 10-17 from the floor before drawing her fifth foul with 47 seconds left. Junior F Elise Caira (Wakefield, MA) came off the bench to register 14 points and eight rebounds while shooting 4-7 from the field.

Junior G Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, NY) chipped in 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.

UMass Lowell committed 20 turnovers, but forced 24 out of Bentley, enabling for a 26-17 edge in points off miscues. The River Hawks also got a huge lift from their bench, outscoring that of Bentley’s, 37-15.

Midway through the first half, UMass Lowell held a 42-39 lead, but Bentley went on a 13-2 run to post a 52-44 lead with 7:13 to play. Josey had five points in the run while sophomore G Katherine Goodwin (Goffstown, NH) added four.

UMass Lowell regrouped, however, and used a 16-3 tear – led by five points from McGrew and four from Kirwan – to post a 60-55 lead with 1:01 left to play.

Bentley cut the lead to one (60-59) behind four points from Caira, but Valentine and McGrew each meshed a pair of free throws in the final 16 seconds to preserve the win. A desperation halfcourt shot by Brennan was just off the mark at the horn.