LOWELL, Mass. – Despite holding two leads in the final 120 seconds, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team suffered a 63-60 setback against Stony Brook at Costello on Thursday night.
 
Late free throws by Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) saw the River Hawks (3-21, 0-11) hold slim margins of 58-57 and 60-59. With 35 ticks on the clock, Stony Brook's Cheyenne Clark put the Seawolves (14-11, 6-6) up for good, 61-60.
 
After two free throws with eight seconds left pushed the advantage to 63-60, Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) couldn't connect on a game-tying three in the final seconds.
 
Gibbs tied a program record shooting 90 percent (9-10) from the field, and scored a game-high 21 points in the effort. Rudolph registered her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in support.
 
Four Stony Brook players reached double-figures on the night, led by Jerell Matthews' 15 points and Clark's double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds).
 
Both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes, before the visitors went on a 9-0 spurt to hold a 13-6 lead at the first media timeout with 4:49 left in the first.
 
Out of the timeout, Linda Svenne (Riga, Latvia) and Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) rattled off five straight to trim the deficit to two points. Megan Hendrick (Alexandria, Va.) put the River Hawks back on top, 16-15, with a corner three-pointer with under a minute to play.
 
The Seawolves opened a 21-16 advantage, but UMass Lowell responded and trailed 26-24 with 4:32 remaining in the half. Gibbs led the charge with four points as she reached double-figures in the frame. After a quick six points by Stony Brook, Svenne added a triple to make it 30-27.
 
Gibbs capped a 4-0 spurt at the end of the half with a put back in the final 15 seconds to knot the teams up a 35-35 heading into intermission.
 
The second half began with both teams scoring four straight points, and Rudolph gave the River Hawks a 41-40 lead. Stony Brook answered with an 8-0 and took a 48-41 at the media timeout, with the clock at 3:16 in the third.
 
Gibbs converted the traditional three-point play to bring it to 49-48 heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation. The 7-1 run for the River Hawks last the final 2:02 of the third, and saw the hosts go 3-for-3 from the field.
 
After Stony Brook built a 53-48 lead in the fourth,  Smith knotted up the score with 6:09 to play.
 
The River Hawks head over to Tsongas for Sunday afternoon's tilt against Vermont at 2 p.m.