Box Score

Senior guards Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) and Ashley Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) combined for 34 points, eight steals and seven assists as UMass Lowell defeated Saint Anselm, 65-54, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

The win was the second straight and fourth in five games for the River Hawks, who improved to 18-6 overall and 15-5 in the NE-10 entering Saturday regular season home finale against Franklin Pierce (2:00).

With the loss, Saint Anselm slipped to 4-20 overall and 1-19 in the Conference.

Simmons scored 19 points and added four steals, four rebounds and three assists while Rivera had 15 points, four assists and four steals on 6 of 10 field goal shooting. Senior G Erika Sjoberg (Stockholm, Sweden) added 13 points on 5-9 field goal shooting in 16 minutes.

Junior F Briana Jones scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds while shooting 8-16 from the floor. Sophomore F Allie Jones added 15 points and 13 rebounds, hitting 6-11 field goals. Freshman G Krista O'Gara chipped in 11 points and five rebounds.

UMass Lowell forced the Hawks into 26 turnovers while committing 19, resulting in a 28-19 scoring edge off turnovers. The River Hawks also enjoyed a 33-9 edge from 3-point range, as Simmons, Rivera and Sjoberg each meshed three treys.

The advantages buffered Saint Anselm's 15-6 edge on second chances despite UMass Lowell's 14-13 edge on offensive rebounds.

UMass Lowell led 39-34 with 13:25 left to play and used a 14-2 run to grab a 53-36 cushion with 9:57 left to play. Simmons led the run with seven points while Sjoberg added five.

Saint Anselm came as close as eight (60-52) with 4:22 left on a jumper by Briana Jones, but Simmons converted a trey to quell the run.