Jan. 21, 2012

Box Score | Post Game Interview and Highlights

Junior G Gabrielle Gibson scored a game-high 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench to lead No. 24 Assumption College over UMass Lowell, 74-68, Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball tilt at the Laska Gymnasium.

With the loss, UMass Lowell slipped to 6-12 overall and 4-9 in the NE-10 entering Wednesday's clash at Saint Rose (5:30).

The win was the second straight and third in four games for the Greyhounds, who improved to 13-4 overall and 10-3 in the Conference.

Junior G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) led UMass Lowell with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals while junior F Brianna Wilson (Lowell, Mass.) came off the bench to score 16 points and grab five rebounds on 6-10 field goal shooting and 4-4 free throw shooting in 19 minutes.

The River Hawks were without senior F Sha'nay Bushner (Akron, Ohio) due to an injury.

"I'm proud of the kids. Our energy and defense was much, much better than it had been against Le Moyne and Mercy and even Pace," said head coach Sarah Behn. "They're the No. 24 team in the nation at the moment. We took a big step forward."

Gibson converted 10 of 11 free throws and was one of three Greyhounds in double digits. Senior F Kelly Meredith added 18 points and six rebounds while converting 8-9 free throws and junior Katy Howard chipped in 14 points and four assists.

Neither team shot particularly well in the first half - UMass Lowell 9-34 (.256) and Assumption 11-33 (.333) - but the Greyhounds found their collective touch in the second half, shooting 13-24 (.542), while the River Hawks improved to 13-31 (.419).

UMass Lowell outrebounded Assumption 46-39 overall and 22-14 offensively, but was unable to take advantage as second chance points were even at 19-19.

The River Hawks led 56-54 with 7:40 left to play, but Assumption used a 12-3 run to post a 66-59 lead with 4:46 left to play. Sophomore F Jamie Insel led the run with four points.

Trailing 70-61 with 1:34 left to play, UMass Lowell reeled off seven straight points - a trey by sophomore G Danielle DePierro (Tewksbury, Mass.) and a jumper and free throws by Simmons - to cut the deficit to 70-68 with 35 seconds left. Gibson, however, meshed four straight free throws to seal the win for Assumption.

In the first half, UMass Lowell overcame a 23-11 deficit with a 16-6 run to end the half. Simmons led the run with five points, including a conventional 3-point play with 31 seconds left to cap the run.

Assumption led at the break 29-27.