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LOWELL, Mass. – Tyshay Britten (Norristown, Pa.) recorded her first career double-double with career highs of 13 points and 14 rebounds, but the UMass Lowell (0-7) women's basketball team fell to the Rhode Island Rams (4-3), 64-57, Tuesday night at the Tsongas Center.
 
In her first career start, Markayla Sherman (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored a career-high 13 points and Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) netted a team-high 15.
 
"Our squad played hard for a good 34 minutes and we had contributions from lots of players, and we came out strong early in the game," commented Head Coach Jenerrie Harris. "Markayla provided a spark for us offensively, but her in foul trouble allowed URI to come back. The second half we did a decent job playing with them, but we needed to win that last quarter. Overall, I'm really proud with the effort we showed tonight, the more we play the better it will get."
 
With 23 points in the second half, URI's Charise Wilson finished the contest with a game-high 31 points on 9-of-20 shooting.
 
After trailing 9-4 with 3:45 remaining in the first quarter, the River Hawks scored six consecutive points to take their first lead of the contest on a Britten layup, her sixth point of the night. UMass Lowell added six more points to take a 16-9 advantage just over two minutes into the second quarter.
 
Britten sparked the run with her first six points, while Sherman chipped in four.
 
The Rams ended the drought with a free three with 5:47 left in the first half to trim the deficit to 16-10. It was the visitors first point since 3:45 on the clock in the opening quarter. Wilson brought Rhode Island within 17-13 with a three pointer a minute later, the Rams first field goal since the first period.
 
Rhode Island ended the half on a 14-5 run to take a 23-21 advantage in the locker room, behind six points from Wilson and five from Dominque Ward in the final minutes.
 
Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) scored the first basket of the second half, and Gibbs added a free throw to build a 24-23 lead for the hosts. Over a 67 second span, Sherman scored seven straight points to push the River Hawks in front 35-29 with 5:32 on the clock in the third, and surpassing her previous career high of 12 points.
 
Britten matched her personal best with her 11th point to give UMass Lowell a 43-39 buffer with 88 seconds remaining in the third period.
 
The Rams scored the first four points of the final 10 minutes of play to take a 48-45 lead, and after a scoring drought of three minutes, was able to extend their advantage to 57-50 with 2:22 left in regulation.
 
UMass Lowell heads on the road to take on the Columbia Lions at 11 a.m. on December 2.