AMHERST, Mass. – Behind a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team came back to defeat Massachusetts, 62-59, for the program's first win in the battle of system rivals.
 
Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) led the way with her second career double-double, setting career highs with 22 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. The graduate scored the River Hawks' (4-8) first 11 points of the contest. Ren'Cia Rolling (Lansing, Ill.) added 10 points and six assists, while Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) matched her personal best with 13 points.

"I'm just really happy for the ladies, they've stayed the course the whole time. It has not been any easy process for them and losing can build momentum, but we stymied that today," remarked Head Coach Tom Garrick. "They showed an incredible amount of fight and perseverance this afternoon, and when things got rough is when your saw the character. We executed on offense and that's a good recipe for winning."
 
With the victory, UMass Lowell took a 4-3 lead in the Kennedy Cup Challenge, the newly established yearly competition between the two schools.
 
Trailing 50-43 with 6:28 left in regulation, UMass Lowell rattled off 10 of the game's next 12 points to take a one-point advantage with 4:35 on the clock. A Rudolph jumper and an Idom three-point play cut the gap to 52-48, before Rolling dropped a triple to make it a one-point game.
 
Oda Shackelford (Edinburgh, Ind.) drove through the lane and gave the River Hawks their first lead of the period at 53-52. Buckets from Bri Stiers (Denver, Colo.), Rolling and Idom pushed the gap to six points before the hosts ended the run with 2:03 to play.
 
Following a three-pointer, the Minutewomen (7-6) climbed within 60-59 and had the chance for the last shot but an air ball was collected by Rudolph with seven seconds left. The graduate completed her career day with both free throws and a last second heave fell short for Massachusetts.
 
To begin the contest, Rudolph went 3-of-4 from the field in the opening five minutes to give the visitors the 6-2 lead. UMass Lowell's defense held the Minutewomen to 1-of-9 shooting in the first eight minutes, before a three-pointer cut the lead to one.
 
The graduate added a triple of her own to record all nine of the River Hawks points in the first quarter, as the visitors held a 9-8 advantage after 10 minutes.
 
Trailing 13-9, UMass Lowell went on a 8-0 run to jump in front, 17-13, using another bucket from Rudolph and six straight points from Idom. Rudolph produced the first 11 points for the visitors before Idom got on the board.
 
Both teams traded baskets before Massachusetts scored seven straight following a Linda Svenne (Riga, Latvia) three to build a 25-20 advantage. Rudolph continued her strong first half with her second triple of the contest to send the teams into the break with a 25-23 score.
 
Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) opened the third with a triple, but the hosts were able to respond and build a 35-29 lead with 6:55 on the clock. Oda Shackelford (Edinburgh, Ind.) sandwiched a Rolling bucket to spearhead a 6-0 spurt for the River Hawks, knotting the score at 35-35 at the media timeout.
 
UMass Lowell continued with the momentum coming out of the timeout with baskets from Rolling and Idom to regain the lead at 39-35. Following five points for the hosts, Rudolph connected on pull-up jumper to give the River Hawks the 41-40 buffer heading into the final quarter.
 
The River Hawks return after the holiday break with their non-conference finale at Morgan State on December 29.