BALTIMORE, Md. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team came out strong in the fourth but could not complete the comeback, as the UMBC Retrievers held on for the 66-54 win on Saturday afternoon.
Jennifer Louro (Belmar, N.J.) and
Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) each scored 11 points for the River Hawks (3-13, 0-3).
UMBC (2-15, 1-3) had three players reach double-figures, paced by Brittani Burgess' 16 points. Te'yJah Oliver and Lucrezia Costa added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Three straight three-pointers from
Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.),
Jennifer Louro (Belmar) and
Paula Lopez (Leon, Spain) jumped the River Hawks out to a 9-3 lead in the first 2:25 of the contest.
The Retrievers responded with an 11-0 run to build a 14-9 advantage, before
Saoirse Power-Cassidy (Dublin, Ireland) snapped the spurt with a floater. A UMBC three at the buzzer gave the hosts a 20-15 buffer at the end of the first.
UMass Lowell hung tough in the second, getting within 24-23 behind threes from Hendrick and
Paula Lopez (Leon, Spain) in the first four minutes. The Retrievers ended the first half on a 14-3 spurt, including another buzzer-beating three, to take a 38-26 advantage into the locker rooms.
UMBC continued to ride the momentum and outscored the guests, 18-9, in the third to extend the lead to 56-35.
UMass Lowell came out in the fourth on a 12-2 run to get within 58-47 with just over six minutes to play.
The River Hawks wrap up this quick two-game road swing with another matinee at New Hampshire on January 15.