BANGOR, Maine – Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) scored a career-high 21 points, but it was not enough as the UMass Lowell women's basketball team came up short in the final quarter, falling 70-65 at Maine on Wednesday night.
 
Trailing 60-50 with just over seven minutes left in regulation, a Jennifer Louro (Belmar, N.J.)  three-point play sparked an 11-4 run for the River Hawks (4-22, 1-12) that closed the gap to 64-61 with 74 clicks on the clock. The freshman also added a triple in the run, as Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) capped it with her 11 point of the night.
 
The Black Bears (18-9, 11-3) clinched the win with five made free throws down the stretch and kept the visitors off the board until two baskets in the final 10 seconds.
 
Rudolph's career best marked a game high, and teammates Paula Lopez (Leon, Spain) and Gibbs added 15 and 13 points, respectively.
 
Maine jumped out to a 12-4 lead at the first media timeout, behind a 5-0 run, and added another basket after the break to cap off seven straight points. Rudolph went on a personal 5-0 spurt and brought the River Hawks within five points.
 
Maine's Tanesha Sutton scored 19 points, and was supported by Blanca Millan's 14 and Parise Rossignol's 13 points.
 
With the Black Bears holding a 17-9 advantage, UMass Lowell climbed within three points thanks to Lopez and a traditional three-point play from Rudolph.
 
After the hosts built a 25-17 lead, Gibbs went scored four straight to pull within 25-21. Maine responded with a 10-0 run to open a 35-21 buffer.
 
Over the last 2:40 of the half, the River Hawks went on a 10-0 run to pull back within four, 35-31, at the intermission. Louro and Lopez both hit threes, while Lopez converted a steal into fast break points right before the buzzer to cap the spurt.
 
The visitors came out in the second half on a 6-2 run, and a Rudolph offensive rebound and put back tied the score at 37-37, just over three minutes into the third. Maine regrouped and went on a 7-2 run to hold a 44-39 buffer at the media timeout with 4:30 on the clock.
 
The Black Bears added to the lead with six more points and led, 50-39, before Rudolph ended the drought with a pair of free throws with 2:24 left in the third. Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne Ind.) added four points in the final 82 seconds of the third to make it a 54-45 game heading into the fourth.
 
UMass Lowell heads to Binghamton for a 4 p.m. tip on February 17 in the River Hawks' final road contest of the regular season.