Box Score (PDF) | Harris Interview

VESTAL, N.Y. – Despite 19 and 15 points from Nicole Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) and Markayla Sherman (Cincinnati, Ohio), respectively, the UMass Lowell (3-20, 0-10) could not keep pace with Binghamton (11-12, 6-4) in the second half, and fell 69-54 on Saturday evening.
 
The leading duo for the River Hawks combined for five three-pointers, with Sherman tying her career high in points. Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) saw her double figure scoring streak snapped at 19 games, but did grab a game-high 10 rebounds.

"I thought we did a good job in the first half moving the ball to find open people and take confident shots," commented Head Coach Jenerrie Harris. "They were a couple of things that we wanted to do in our game plan that worked, but obviously in the second half there were some adjustments that we wanted to make but didn't execute them properly. I think this will be a learning experience for these young women."
 
Four Bearcats ended the night in double-digits led by Imani Watkins' 20 points.
 
Megan Hendrick (Alexandria, Va.) and Sherman put together a 5-0 for the River Hawks in the first, and Sherman's three put the visitors in front 5-4 with 6:42 left in the first.
 
Both teams traded baskets with the Bearcats holding a 13-10 advantage in the final minutes of the first, but Hayner connected on her second three of the opening frame to knot the game at 13-13 at the end of the first. The senior led all scorers with eight points after the opening 10 minutes.
 
Hayner continued her hot start into the second, scoring four points in the opening minutes to spearhead a 13-0 run for the guests, handing UMass Lowell as 24-13 buffer with 5:43 left in the half. Tyshay Britten (Norristown, Pa.), Sherman and Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) also netted a basket each in the spurt.
 
Binghamton closed the gap to 26-22 with 3:25 on the clock, but Hayner added her 14^th points of the half to push the advantage to 28-22. With 1:47 remaining in the first half, Jasmine Sina connected on a triple to make it a 28-27 game, but Hendrick answered with a three of her own. The Bearcats' Carly Boland scored the final points of the first half, sending UMass Lowell into the break with a slim, 32-31, lead.
 
Sherman opened the second half with back-to-back buckets to put the River Hawks up 37-31 in the opening 90 seconds. UMass Lowell entered the first media timeout of the third with a 43-40 advantage, but an 8-0 Bearcat run put Binghamton ahead with 3:22 on the clock.
 
Imani Watkins' three-pointer with 4:33 left in the third put the hosts in front with a 45-44 buffer, their first lead since there were 23 seconds remaining in the first.
 
The Bearcats added two more triples in the final minutes and took a 59-43 advantage in the final 10 minutes. Boland finished the contest with 15, while Alyssa James and Rebecca Carmondy contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The River Hawks play their second game in three days when they host Stony Brook on February 6 at 7 p.m.