Feb. 6, 2010

Box Score

Head Coach Kathy O'Neil earned the 400th victory of her career as UMass Lowell defeated Stonehill College, 80-69, Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

Freshman G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, CT) scored 24 points and senior G Rahshala Valentine (Cincinnati, OH) added 18 points as the River Hawks collectively shot .508 for the game and used a second half run to secure the win.

The victory, UMass Lowell's third straight, was all the more fitting as more than 30 alumni returned to the University to celebrate Women's Basketball Alumni Day.

"What is great is seeing all the alumni here," O'Neil said. "It's so nice seeing them all, what they have been doing, where their lives are going and being a part of their families. It's a circle. We weave that web and we all hang in there together. It's a great thing to be part of their families."

The River Hawks (14-7 overall, 10-7 in the NE-10) visit Southern New Hampshire Tuesday at 5:30. Stonehill suffered its third straight loss and slipped to 17-7 overall and 12-5 in the NE-10 entering Tuesday's game at Merrimack (5:30).

Simmons converted 9 of 16 field goal attempts and also dished out four assists, grabbed four rebounds and had three steals. Valentine converted 6 of 8 field goals and 5-5 free throws while dealing three assists.

Sophomore F Sha'nay Bushner (Akron, OH) chipped in 15 points (7-14 FG shooting) and grabbed five rebounds.

Senior F Erin Gray (Clifton Park, NY) led the Skyhawks with 16 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 6-10 from the field. Junior G Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, ME) added 14 points and five assists.

Junior F Amanda Smith (Penacook, NH) chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds while senior G Megan Methven (Corning, NY) also scored 13 points and dished three assists.

UMass Lowell led 40-36 at the break and opened the second half with a 10-4 spurt to grab a 50-40 cushion with 16:43 left to play. Simmons scored four points in the run.

The River Hawks led 56-46 with 11:58 left to play and scored 10 straight points - led by a pair of treys from senior G Amanda McGrew (Santa Monica, CA) - to establish a 66-46 lead with 9:29 left to play.

Stonehill cut the lead all the way to nine points (78-69) behind a 20-7 run, although only 47 seconds remained on the clock. Smith scored eight points in the run while Methven added six.

UMass Lowell shot .519 in the second half (14-27) while the Skyhawks struggled to a .324 clip (12-37). The River Hawks accuracy buffered Stonehill's 16-11 edge on offensive rebounds which led to an 18-4 scoring advantage on second chances.

The River Hawks also utilized the fast break (14-2) as well as its dribble-drive offense which led to a 46-32 advantage in the paint.

"We needed to attack the basket more," O'Neil said. "Our emphasis the last few days was to try to get to the rim.

"I thought we played real hard," she added. "We came out and did the things we needed to do defensively. Offensively, we hit some shots which always makes things much easier for you."