Box Score (PDF) | Interview

KINGSTON, R.I. – Led by Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) recording double-doubles, four players scored in double figures but the UMass Lowell (0-5) women's basketball team fell to Rhode Island (2-3), 72-64, Saturday afternoon.

"I'm so proud of these young women, with only seven players we wanted to make sure we felt like we left nothing on the court and that's how we felt," said Head Coach Jenerrie Harris. "We played as hard as we could have, and to have two freshmen start and to come out like they did against this team I thought they did a wonderful job."

Doucette dropped a team-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, for her first double-double of the season, and Gibbs scored 14 and snagged a career-high 14 boards.

The River Hawks used a fast start to jump out to an 9-4 lead after Melissa Frase (Tamworth, N.H.) hit a three-pointer with 6:54 remaining. Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) added to the long ball attack to give UMass Lowell a 12-8 lead later in the quarter. Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) added four free throws after a technical foul for an 18-14 lead, before Nazarae Butler (Columbus, Ohio) drilled a buzzer beater from beyond midcourt to give the visitors a 21-17 lead heading into the second quarter.

Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Butler each made their first collegiate starts, each collecting two rebounds in first quarter. Butler's buzzer beater were her only points in the opening frame, and Smith added two.

The Rams used a 5-0 spurt in the second quarter and outscored UMass Lowell 17-10, to take a 34-31 lead into the intermission. Smith and Gibbs both got the River Hawks within one point at 30-29 and 32-31, but the team could not regain the lead.

After being shutout in the first quarter, URI's second-leading scorer Dominique Ward scored seven points in the second. On the other end, the River Hawks prevented Samantha Tabakman from adding on to her six first-quarter points.

After hanging around an eight-point deficit for most of the third quarter, the River Hawks' offense went on a 10-0 run to take a 48-47 lead. The two seniors, Frase and Doucette, spearheaded the run with Frase scoring five, including a big long ball to cut the score to 47-45. Doucette started the run with 4:42 remaining and tied the score at 47-47 with 2:54 on the clock. Mitchell-Owens capped of the run with a free throw, 30 seconds later, to give UMass Lowell its first lead since the second quarter at 48-47.

Smith surpassed her previous career-high of eight points with two free throws to give the River Hawks a 52-50 lead with 74 seconds on the clock.

Tabakman and Charise Wilson each scored six points in the quarter, and the Rams ended the frame on a 11-6 run to take a 56-53 advantage into the fourth.

URI began the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run in the first three minutes to open up a 64-55 lead, and the River Hawks could not battle back.

Smith scored a career-high 11 points and Frase added a season-high 15, hitting a trio of three-pointers. Butler dished out a career best and team-high four assists, as well.

Tabakman netted a game-high 17 points for the Rams, followed by Wilson's 14 and Ward's 11 points. Tayra Melendez added 11 and eight rebounds.

The River Hawks are back in action on December 1 at 7 p.m., as they take on Boston University in their first Tsongas Center game of the season.