Friday, December 18 at Fairleigh Dickinson (5:30 p.m.)
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Sunday, December 20 at Boston College (1 p.m.)
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Game Notes
Twitter: @RiverHawkWBB @RiverHawkNation

LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team begins a four-game road trip with a pair of non-conference tilts at Fairleigh Dickinson on December 18 at 5:30 p.m., and a Sunday matinee against Boston College at 1 p.m.

Looking at the River Hawks
UMass Lowell used a 14-0 run in the first quarter to take an 18-4 lead against Holy Cross on Dec. 9. The River Hawks opened up a 17-point lead and held on to defeat the Crusaders 75-67. Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) set career highs with 22 points, seven rebounds and nine made free throws. Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass.) also scored 22 points, and recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 boards. Melissa Frase (Tamworth, N.H.) connected on her 100th career three-pointer and finished with 10 points. The win marked the first River Hawk victory in the all-time series since the 1977-78 season.

Leading the Flock
The UMass Lowell offense is led by a trio of players averaging double-digits this season, Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) is leading the way with 13.8 points, and snagging 8.3 rebounds per game. Doucette is scoring 13.7 points per game and leads the team with 9.3 boards. Nicole Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) is averaging 11.0 points and has connected on with 10 three-pointers. Mitchell-Owens and Frase have dished out 19 assists to facilitate the offense, and lead the team with 14 and 13 threes, respectively. On the defensive side of the ball, Doucette has five blocks, and Frase adds 12 steals. As a unit, UMass Lowell is shooting 205-of-528 (38.8%) from the field and 31.6 percent (49-155) from three-point range.

Scouting Fairleigh Dickinson
Fairleigh Dickinson enters Friday's contest 2-6, after splitting a pair of decisions last week. The Knights fell, 91-42, at West Virginia on Dec. 6, before bouncing back and topping Saint Peter's, 73-52, three days later, on Dec. 9. Senior Kelsey Cruz and redshirt senior Erika Livermore are leading the team, averaging 17.9 and 14.1 points, respectively. Livermore is leading the squad with 5.9 boards per game and 9 blocks, while junior Kiana Brown is first on the team with 27 assists and a second-best 10 steals. As a team, the Knights are putting up 60.9 points per game, while shooting 37.0 percent (185-489) from the field, including 28 percent (93-140) from long range.

Series History
The River Hawks won the only meeting in the series, 78-67, last year on Nov. 30. UMass Lowell cruised to a 44-25 halftime lead on route to a 78-67 win over the Knights last season. Jasmine McRoy led the way with 24 points and nine rebounds. Melissa Frase added 13 points, while Lindsey Doucette and Kayla Gibbs chipped in 10 points each.

Scouting Boston College
Boston College comes into Sunday's contest 8-1, thanks to a pair of home wins last week. The Eagles took down Hartford, 62-28, on Dec. 9, and continued to roll with a 75-52 victory against New Hampshire on Dec. 13. Offensively, junior Kelly Hughes leads the squad with 14.3 points per game and 14 steals, while going a perfect 8-for-8 on free throws so far this year. Freshman Mariella Fasoula is first on the team tallying 11 blocks and snatching 5.3 boards a game, while averaging a second-best 10.6 points. As a team, Boston College is scoring 63.0 points per game and shooting 45.5 percent (215-474) from the field, including 37 percent (59-158) from downtown.  The squad has recorded 65 steals and 31 blocks throughout 2015, in addition to averaging 34.7 rebounds. 

Series History
The Eagles hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series history. The two teams have not met since 1982, a 76-29 victory for Boston College.

Always a Threat from Deep
As a unit, the River Hawks led the league shooting 31.6 percent from downtown, averaging 5.4 makes per game. Last season, UMass Lowell led the league in three-point shooting with a 33.2 3FG% and averaged 6.8 makes per game.

Balling in the America East
The River Hawks lead the America East with a .737 free throw percentage, and sit in second averaging 13.1 offensive rebounds per game. The team ranks fourth in the America East in three-point field goals made per game (5.4) , rebounding margin (+1.1), and assists per game (11.9).

Notables
Doucette's 17 rebounds against FIU is the top single game performance in the America East this season … Nazarae Butler (Columbus, Ohio) and Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) made first collegiate starts at Rhode Island … Frase snagged her 100th and 101st career rebounds against Columbia … Butler and Smith made their collegiate debuts against No. 6 Maryland.