Freshman G Alyssa Roach scored 19 points while senior G Marie Li Sicard added 18 points as American International College defeated UMass Lowell, 79-55, Tuesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

The loss was the third straight for UMass Lowell, which slipped to 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the NE-10 entering Saturday's game at Southern Connecticut (1:30).

AIC improved to 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the Conference.

Junior G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) led UMass Lowell with 17 points and four assists as she converted 8 of 16 field goals. Senior F Sha'nay Bushner  (Akron, Ohio) added nine points and eight rebounds.

"We've got some things going on at both ends of the court that are a little alarming," said head coach Sarah Behn. "I thought we did well until the Christmas break but we've lost three in a row."

Roach converted 8 of 15 field goal attempts and also dished five assists while Li Sicard also shot 8-15 and compiled 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior G Michelle Lafond added 14 points and six rebounds while sophomore G Sarah Noble chipped in 11 points and five rebounds on 4-6 field goal shooting.

AIC shot .475 for the game (29-61) but was on the mark in the second half in which it shot .607 (17-28). UMass Lowell shot .356 for the game (21-59) and .379 in the second half (11-29).

"Our percentages aren't very good right now," said Behn. "On defense we're not rotating quickly enough, so teams are shooting well against us. This is a tough stretch for us. We need to figure it out quickly."

Turnovers were virtually even - AIC with 16 and UMass Lowell 15 - but it was the Yellow Jackets who took advantage, outscoring UMass Lowell 22-13 off mistakes. It was a similar story with offensive rebounds as UMass Lowell grabbed 16 to AIC's 15, but the Yellow Jackets outscored the River Hawks on second chances, 18-8.

UMass Lowell trailed 55-46 with 7:37 left to play but the Yellow Jackets used a 12-2 run to lead 67-48 put the game out of reach with 3:48 left to play. Roach had four points in the run while Noble and Li Sicard each hit 3-point shots.

"We get some open shots, but we start to miss so we tend to force things a little bit," Behn noted. "There is a mixture of things that we need to address. It's my job to figure it out and we will."