Box Score (PDF) | Harris Interview 

DURHAM, N.H. – Nicole Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) scored a career-high 19 points, but the UMass Lowell (3-15, 0-6) women's basketball team had another fourth quarter comeback fall short and fell, 65-61, to the New Hampshire Wildcats (7-11, 1-4), Thursday night.

"I thought we played tough in the last five minutes of the game and we needed that for the first 35 minutes," said Head Coach Jenerrie Harris. "To play a game like this and still only lose by four points shows a lot about what kind of game this could have been, and who we could be as a team."

 The River Hawks entered the fourth trailing 43-33, and were down by as many as 12, 50-38, with 7:12 remaining. With the Wildcats holding an 11-point lead with just over four minutes left when UMass Lowell started to gain momentum.

Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) and Hayner spearheaded a 9-2 run to trim the deficit to 58-53 heading into the final two minutes. The junior added her fourth three of the final frame to trim the New Hampshire lead to 62-58 with 18.7 clicks on the clock, and Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass.) added a triple to bring the River Hawks within 64-61 with 12 seconds remaining.

The Wildcats hit one of two free throws to ice the game, and prevented UMass Lowell on getting a quality attempt off before the buzzer sounded. Elizabeth Belanger led all scorers with 32 points, the only New Hampshire player in double figures.

Hayner scored 12 points in the final frame as the River Hawks scored a season-high 28 points in the period. Doucette added nine to finish with 18, and Gibbs recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards. Nicole Riddick (Albany, N.Y.) tied her season-high with nine points. 

Trailing 8-3 in the middle stages of the first quarter, the River Hawks used a 7-0 run, capped off by a Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass.) three-pointer to take their first lead of the game at 10-8. Coming out of the first media timeout, Doucette added a jumper but the Wildcats countered with a 5-0 run to end the period and take a 15-14 lead into the second.

The UNH run continued until Gibbs hit a free throw with 6:16 remaining in the first half, cutting the deficit to 21-15. With Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) at the line and hitting her first free throw, the second shot rimmed out but Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) was there for the offensive board and put back to bring the guests within 23-18. The Wildcats would score four of the final six points of the half to bring a 27-20 advantage into the locker rooms.

Down by double-digits in the third, Riddick  scored five-straight points, including a traditional three-point play, to cut the Wildcat lead to 32-27. Peyton Booth ended the spurt with a three-pointer to extend the advantage back to 35-27.

The River Hawks shot 47.1 percent (24-51) from the field, compared to the Wildcats' 40.3 percent (25-62). New Hampshire held the advantage from the charity stripe, however, shooting 10-of-17 to UMass Lowell's 6-of-10.

The River Hawks return home for as three-game home stand, hosting the Binghamton Bearcats in a Tsongas Center doubleheader with the men's team. Tip is set for 11 a.m.