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ORONO, Maine – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team struggled to find its offensive rhythm, falling to the University of Maine, 68-54, on Wednesday night at the Cross Insurance Center.
 
The River Hawks (7-9, 1-3) entered the contest as the highest scoring offense in the America East Conference but were forced into 23 turnovers by a Black Bears (10-6, 2-1) squad who entered as the top ranked defense in the AE. Maine's defense won the battle by blocking four shots and swiping 13 steals which turned into 26 points off turnovers.
 
Senior guard Shannon Samuels (Windsor, Conn.) scored 11 first half points and finished the contest with a game-high 19 points while sinking three three-pointers. Junior forward Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass.) fell just short of another double-double and finished with eight points and 11 rebounds.
 
Junior forward Liz Wood did it all for the Black Bears as she had her first career triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 helpers while picking up six steals.
 
The teams exchanged the lead six times over the opening eight minutes with UMass Lowell taking a 14-9 lead following a layup by freshman Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.). That's when the leagues top defense locked down, holding the River Hawks without a point for nearly seven minutes until Samuels sank her first trey of the night at the 5:38 mark.
 
Sparked by a triple and mid-range jumper by Samuels, the River Hawks were in the midst of a 9-0 run and looked prime to finish the half strong. The Black Bears turned away the comeback attempt as Sigi Koizar and Chantel Charles each made a three with under a minute to push the lead up to 36-26 at the break.
 
UMass Lowell carried over some of their momentum to the second half, scoring five unanswered before Maine put the game out of reach.
 
The River Hawks take to the hardwood next on Saturday when they host Hartford at 2 p.m.