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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team had its three-game win streak come an end Saturday afternoon, dropping a 66-54 decision to Providence at Alumni Hall.
 
Senior guard Shannon Samuels (Windsor, Conn.) scored 17 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough for the River Hawks who fall to 3-4 on the season. The Friars had three players reach double-figures in points as they improve to 3-5 overall and 1-0 in the Big East.
 
Freshman forward Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) continued to be a scoring presence off the bench for the River Hawks as she tied her career-high of 13 points, going 4-of-7 from the field.
 
The game went back and forth as the teams exchanged runs right out of the gate. The Friars started game on 13-5 run before the River Hawks countered with an 8-0 run of their own, getting back-to-back three's from Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) and Samuels.
 
After PC's Chanise Baldwin made a layup at the 15:20 mark, the River Hawks held the Friars without a field goal until the 9:09 mark. The Friars responded with a 7-2 run of their own to take a 22-17 lead.
 
Trailing 50-37 in the second half, UMass Lowell would go on a 15-3 run to cut the PC lead to a single point at 53-52. Providence's Tori Rule and Sarah Beal would connect on three pointers late and shut the door on the River Hawks comeback hopes.
 
The River Hawks held the advantage over the Friars in several categories including field goal percentage (45.8 to 39.7), points in the paint (30 to 26), fast break points (18 to 4) and bench points (21 to 7). PC outrebounded UML 41-27 and scored 17 second chance points off 20 offensive rebounds.
 
The River Hawks will have Sunday off before welcoming Yale at the Costello Athletic Center on Monday at 7 p.m.