BALTIMORE, Md. – Behind a career-high 24 points from Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.), the UMass Lowell women's basketball team picked up its first America Eat road victory since 2015 with a 67-55 win at UMBC on Saturday afternoon.
 
Rudolph scored 20 points in the first half, including the River Hawks (6-11, 2-2) first 12 points of the second quarter to lead all scorers. The guard set her new personal best with a bucket late in the fourth to give the visitors a 60-53 lead.
 
The Retrievers (7-9, 0-3) were held scoreless for the final 3:41, and a Bri Stiers (Denver, Colo.) traditional three-point play iced the win and gave UMass Lowell its largest lead of the contest with 2:08 to play.
 
"I'm just really happy for the ladies. I'm proud and we followed our game plan," commented Head Tom Garrick. "We wanted to take advantage of them inside and out in transition. We had two really good efforts from our seniors and that's what carried us through."
 
The River Hawks opened the contest on 5-2 run after UMBC opened the scoring, and built a 12-7 lead following a Rudolph three-pointer.
 
In the final seconds of the first quarter, Katie McKie (Austin, Texas) extended the lead to 19-13, but UMBC's O'Lesheya Braxton drained a three from half court as the buzzer sounded.
 
Using the momentum from the last-second make, the Retrievers opened the second period on a 5-2 run to knot the game at 21-21 before Rudolph added her 12th point of the first half. The hosts took their first lead since the opening bucket at 24-23 with 6:01 remaining in the half.
 
Rudolph netted the first 12 UMass Lowell points in the second, helping to build a 34-30 advantage in the final minute. The Retrievers hit a pair of free throws and forced a turnover in the last seconds to draw even at 34-34 heading into the break.
 
Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) started the second half on a 6-0 run in the opening 90 seconds as the River Hawks took a six-point lead. Rudolph tied her personal best with two free throws in the third to give her team a 43-38 buffer.
 
Moments later, Smith gave the visitors their largest lead of the afternoon with two free throws as UMass Lowell went up 47-38. UMBC was able to trim the gap to four, but a late surge in the quarter put the visitors up 54-47 heading into the final frame.
 
In the fourth, the hosts pulled within 56-51 but the River Hawks were able to close the game on an 11-4 run.
 
UMass Lowell wraps up its brief road swing at UAlbany on January 16, tip is set for 7 p.m.