Monday, December 22 at Holy Cross (11:15 a.m.)
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 SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: The River Hawks return to the hardwood following a 95-48 loss to No. 13 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday.Â
Coming off her America East Conference Player of the Week honor,
Shannon Samuels scored 26 of the teams points, shooting 11-for-22 including a 3-for-7 performance from beyond the arc.
The River Hawks were done in by the disparity in size as the Blue Devils pounded the glass for 58 rebounds which resulted in 27 second chance points and were part of their 62 points in the paint.
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS:Â Holy Cross hosts UMass Lowell following an eight day break. Their last action came in a 72-61 loss at UMass on Dec. 14 when the Minutewomen used a 21-10 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half to pull away for the victory. The Crusaders are led by a trio of players who average double figures in points, spearheaded by Raquel Scott who is averaging 20.7 ppg and 9.9 rpg. Trailing Scott are guards Lisa Mifsud (14.4 ppg) and Kate Gillespie (10.5 ppg). ALL-TIME SERIES: Monday's contest marks the eighth between the two programs with the Crusaders leading the series 5-2 and having won the last five meetings. Following a 37-year hiatus, the teams met last season for the first time as Division I opponents with Holy Cross claiming a 92-69 victory in Lowell.
COMMON OPPONENTS: Holy Cross has played three of the same opponents as UMass Lowell, going 0-3 in those games while the River Hawks are 2-1. Both teams lost to No. 3 Notre Dame in South Bend with the River Hawks dropping a 105-51 decision while the Crusaders were handled 104-29. UMass Lowell hosted and beat Yale and Bryant, 80-72 and 86-85 respectively, while Holy Cross fell 83-70 at Yale and 74-68 at Bryant.
HOLIDAY BREAK: Following todayís contest the River Hawks will have eight days off before they host St. Francis Brooklyn at Costello Athletic Center on Dec. 30th at 7 p.m.
NO CASE OF THE MONDAY'S: The River Hawks are 2-0 when playing on Monday with wins coming over Mt. Ida (93-41) and Yale (80-72).
SAMUELS HEATING UP: Senior guard Shannon Samuels has posted 20+ points in the last four games, including her season-high against Bryant when she poured in 31 points. Samuels is the first and only player in the America East this season to break the 30-point mark. She had failed to score 20 or more points and averaged 11.2 points per game through the first five games but has hit her stride averaging 25.3 over her last four.
RIDDICK RETURNS: Freshman Nicole Riddick made her second appearance of the season against the Blue Devils on Friday. The forward started the season opener at Notre Dame but had been held out of the River Hawks lineup due to injury.
CLOSE 'BONDS': First year UMass Lowell assistant coach Chante Bonds returns to Worcester for the first time since leaving the Crusaders program this past summer. Bonds spent the last four seasons (2010-14) as an assistant coach to Bill Gibbons.
SAMUELS CONFERENCE HONOR:Â The America East Conference named Shannon Samuels the Player of the Week after she helped guide the team to a 2-0 record while leading the conference in scoring at 27.5 points per game last week. Samuels also added 4.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and from 3-point range.
