Wednesday, December 9 vs. Holy Cross (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team welcomes the Holy Cross Crusaders to Costello Athletic Center on Wednesday, December 9 for a 7 p.m. tilt.

This will be the final home game of 2015 for the team, as the River Hawks host Stony Brook on Jan. 9, following a four-game road trip.

Looking at the River Hawks
UMass Lowell suffered two defeats over the weekend at FIU on Dec. 4 and at Miami on Dec. 6. In the contest at FIU, the River Hawks battled back to take their largest lead of the game, 64-60, with 3:29 remaining in the fourth, but ultimately fell, 71-68. Katherine Smith had a clean look for a three-pointer at the buzzer, but could not get the friendly bounce. Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass.) recorded her second double-double in three games, collecting a career-high 17 rebounds and dropping 19 points. Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) returned to double figures, scoring 20 and snagging 10 boards.

Three River Hawks scored double-digits in the 84-53 loss at Miami, led by Doucette's 15 points. Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) and Melissa Frase (Tamworth, N.H.) added 12 points each, with seven three-pointers combined. UMass Lowell set a season high with nine threes.

Leading the Flock
The UMass Lowell offense is led by a trio of players averaging double-digits this season, Kayla Gibbs is leading the way with 14.4 points, and snagging 9.0 rebounds per game. Nicole Hayner (Bedford, H.H) is averaging 13.3 points and has connected on with 10 three-pointers. Doucette is scoring 12.6 points per game while grabbing 8.9 boards. Frase has dished out 19 assists to facilitate the offense, and has 12 three-pointers to lead the team. On the defensive side of the ball, Doucette has five blocks, and Frase adds eleven steals. As a unit, UMass Lowell is shooting 178-of-474 (37.6%) from the field and 30.4 percent (42-150) from three-point range.

Scouting Holy Cross
Holy Cross enters Wednesday's contest at 2-6, after splitting a pair of decisions last week. The Crusaders grabbed their second win of 2015 when they topped Vermont, 77-63, on Dec. 2, before falling three days later at Pittsburg, 56-50, on Dec. 5. Senior Raquel Scott is headlining the squad, leading the team with 16.4 points per game, while connecting on 48.4 percent (46-95) from the field and averaging a team-high 8.9 boards. Classmate Molly Hourigan has tallied 20 blocks and 10 steals, and sophomore Infiniti Thomas-Waheed has posted 18 steals and is averaging 11.6 points through eight games.  As a team, Holy Cross is averaging 63.1 points, shooting 39.3 percent (182-463) from the field and 31.1 percent (50-161) from long range, in addition to pulling in 34.1 rebounds a game.

Series History
The Crusaders hold a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series, and defeated the River Hawks, 78-63, in Worcester last season.

Always a Threat from Deep
As a unit, the River Hawks are second in the league shooting 30.4 percent from downtown, averaging 5.3 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 .730 free throw percentage. The team ranks fourth in the America East in three-point field goals made per game (5.3) and fourth in rebounding margin (+0.2).

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.