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LOWELL, Mass. – A furious fourth quarter comeback fell short, as the UMass Lowell (3-14, 0-5) women's basketball team was outlasted by the Vermont Catamounts (6-12, 1-4), 59-51, Monday afternoon in America East action.

"It was a great game, I really liked the enthusiasm we came out with," said Head Coach Jenerrie Harris." I thought that we had nice production from our bench and it was good to see all of our players come out with fire. Despite not a lot of shots falling, we were still in it and had a lot of opportunities at the end, but this is all a learning process for our team."

Trailing 43-35 in the fourth quarter the River Hawks used a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 45-41, the smallest deficit since the score was 28-25 in the opening minute of the third. With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, Melissa Frase (Tamworth, N.H.) drove to the hoop and brought the hosts within 47-45. Moments later, Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) drilled a three to trim the gap to 49-48. After Vermont went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line, Nicole Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) kept hope alive with a three, making the score 55-51 with less than 40 clicks left.

The Catamounts iced the game with four more free throws, finishing the game a perfect 22-of-22 from the charity stripe.

Mitchell-Owens dropped a team-high 16 points, and Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Frase dished out a team-high three assists.

Gibbs scored the first six UMass Lowell points of the contest, including the first four of the game, as the River Hawks opened a 6-3 lead over three minutes into the action. The Catamounts responded by scoring the next nine points to build a 12-6 advantage with over two minutes remaining in the opening frame.

The River Hawks battled back with six-straight points, four from Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) to knot the game at 12-12 heading into the second quarter. The teams combined to go 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the opening 10 minutes, resulting in seven points for the Catamounts and five for UMass Lowell. Gibbs and Vermont's Sydney Smith both hit all four of their shots from the charity stripe.

Down 21-14 in the middle of the second frame, the River Hawks cut the deficit to 26-23 with 32.4 ticks on the clock forcing a Vermont timeout. Thomas drained a fade away at the buzzer and the Catamounts took a 28-23 advantage into the locker rooms. The Vermont guard led all scorers at the half with 15 points. Mitchell-Owens led UMass Lowell with eight points off the bench, and Gibbs added six points with a game-high five rebounds.

12 of the River Hawks' 23 points in the first half came off of free throws, as the squad shot 12-of-14.

Early in the third, Gibbs brought the hosts back within three at 28-25, but the guests opened up a 35-27 score heading into quarter's first media timeout. Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass.) hit a running jumper to end the drought with 2:20 left on the clock and spark an 8-2 run to close the third. Frase and Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) added three free throws to cut the deficit down to single digits, 41-32, with less than 90 seconds left. Mitchell-Owens converted a traditional three-point play with 36.8 on the clock, but another late bucket for the Catamounts led to a 43-35 score in favor of the guest heading to the final period.

Thomas led all scorers with 25 for the Catamounts, and Kylie Atwood added 12 points. Candice Wright registered two blocks.

For the 11th game this season UMass Lowell rebounded their opponent, collecting 37 to Vermont's 36. The River Hawk bench outscored the Catamounts, 22-6, as well. Frase added a game-high three steals and turnovers.

UMass Lowell heads to New Hampshire for a matchup against the Wildcats on January 21 at 7 p.m.