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LOWELL, Mass. – Nicole Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) set her second career-high in three games with 23 points, but the UMass Lowell (3-17, 0-8) women's basketball team fell to the UAlbany Great Danes (16-3, 7-0), 85-55, during Health and Fitness Field Trip Day, presented by Lowell General Hospital and Collins Dentistry for Children, in front of 3,363 at the Tsongas Center.

Hayner shot 8-of-15 (53%) from the field with a trio of three-pointers, and with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, hit a pair of free throws to set the new personal best. The junior capped of her game with a layup with 1.4 ticks on the clock.

"Albany is a really good team, they're four-time defending time America East Champions, and they have terrific personnel at every position," said Head Coach Jenerrie Harris. "They are a well-rounded team and I would have loved for us to play with a little more confidence, but I'm proud of the fight we showed in the fourth quarter and beginning of game. In the middle of the game, we lost focus a little bit and let a seed of doubt into our minds."

Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass.) started the game with a jumper and Melissa Frase (Tamworth, N.H.) added a corner three-pointer, as the River Hawks opened a 5-2 lead in the first 85 seconds.

The Great Danes battled back to take a 9-5 advantage, but Doucette ended the run with a jumper from the free throw line. Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) connected on a mid-range jumper to knot up the score at 9-9. UAlbany used a 10-2 run to close out the quarter and enter the second with a 19-11 advantage.

Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) closed the gap to 19-14, converting a traditional three-point play 31 seconds in the frame. The Great Danes outscored the River Hawks 22-3 the rest of the quarter to take a 41-17 halftime lead.

The junior hit two threes in the third quarter, turning her second into a four-point play after being fouled. Frase added the third triple for the River Hawks in the frame, cutting the deficit to 61-33. UMass Lowell scored 20 points in the period to enter the fourth trailing 69-37.

Hayner tied her previous career-high (19 points), draining a corner three for the first UMass Lowell points in the final quarter. Mitchell-Owens followed with a long ball of her own under a minute later, bringing the River Hawks within 75-43. Doucette chipped in three with 3:10 on the clock to crack the double-digit plateau, and finished with 11 points.

Behind a 56 percent (15-25) shooting effort in the second half, UMass Lowell finished the game at a 47.7 percent (21-44) clip. Frase tied her career-high with eight assists.

UAlbany shot 50.7 percent (35-69) from the field, with Shareesha Richards and Imani Tate scoring 23 and 20 points, respectively. Zakiya Saunders added 17 and dished out six assists. Tate recorded a game-high five steals, and Saunders forced four turnovers.

The River Hawks enter their bye week, and begin the second half of conference play, February 3 , hosting Hartford at Costello. Tip is set for 7 p.m.