Jan. 25, 2012

Box Score | Highlights/Sarah Behn Interview

Senior G Ashley Rath scored a game-high 20 points as the College of Saint Rose defeated UMass Lowell, 60-56, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball tilt at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium.

The loss was the third straight for UMass Lowell, which slipped to 6-13 overall and 4-10 in the NE-10 entering Saturday's home game against New Haven (2:00).

Saint Rose improved to 12-6 overall and 9-5 in the Conference.

Junior G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) led UMass Lowell with 19 points and eight rebounds while junior F Brianna Wilson (Lowell, Mass.) added 10 points and five rebounds on 4 of 8 shooting from the field.

Senior F Sha'nay Bushner (Akron, Ohio) also had 10 points along with six steals and five rebounds off the bench before drawing her fifth foul with 6:03 to play.

Rath also dealt four assists and grabbed four rebounds for Saint Rose. Senior F Ali Johnson scored 14 points (6-10 FG shooting), grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out three assists while junior F Maria Sanchez Gonzalez added 13 points (4-6 FGs, 4-5 FTs) and 13 rebounds.

After shooting .280 in the first half (7-25), Saint Rose found its touch, shooting .565 in the second half (13-23). UMass Lowell shot .361 in the first half (13-36) and only .300 in the second (9-30).

The Golden Knights also outscored UMass Lowell at the free throw line, 18-8, the result of 18-24 shooting to the River Hawks' 8-11.

The advantages compensated for 20 turnovers to UMass Lowell's 13, resulting in the River Hawks' 26-12 clip on points off turnovers.

UMass Lowell led 42-29 six minutes into the second half, but Saint Rose responded with a 22-4 run to post a 51-46 lead with 5:34 left to play. Rath and senior G Ola Shajuyigbe led the run with six points each.

The River Hawks twice cut the lead to three points in the final 1:41, but could get no closer.

In the first half, UMass Lowell used a 17-2 run to jump out to a 22-7 lead with 5:38 left until the break, fueled by nine points from Simmons.

Saint Rose answered with a 9-1 spurt of its own to cut the deficit to 23-16, but the River Hawks ended the half with a 10-2 run - led by five points from junior G Erika Sjoberg (Stockholm, Sweden) and four from Bushner - to grab a 33-18 cushion at the break.