LOWELL, Mass. – Despite an 18-4 run in the third quarter, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team dropped a back and forth contest, 56-53, to New Hampshire in America East action at the Tsongas Center on Wednesday night.
 
Linda Svenne's (Riga, Latvia) potential game-tying three at the buzzer would not fall as the River Hawks (5-11, 1-2) dropped their second straight conference tilt. Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) led the effort with 17 points, and Bri Stiers (Denver, Colo.) set a career high with 13. For the second consecutive contest, Ren'Cia Rolling (Lansing, Ill.) registered nine assists.
 
"Coach Magarity had a great game plan and it was executed really well," commented Head Coach Tom Garrick. "Her team worked really hard and played throughout the whole 40 minutes, while our kids did the exact opposite and were not ready to play, which has to change in order to win games."
 
Trailing 38-25 at the break, the River Hawks erupted for the third quarter's first 16 points and retook the lead at 39-38 with a layup from Stiers. The Wildcats would pick up their first bucket of the half with 1:41 left, and scored four straight, but Rudolph answered for the 43-42 lead entering the fourth.
 
Both teams traded points in the early minutes, and the visitors were able to build a four-point edge with 6:21 to play. Katherine Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.) knotted the game at 52-52 off a traditional three-point play with 2:19 on the clock, before Stiers put the River Hawks on top with a free throw 30 seconds later.
 
UNH was able to make the game's final lead change with an and-one of its own with 22 seconds left in regulation.
 
Rudolph connected on the contest's first basket, and five points from Stiers had the hosts in front 9-6 out of the first media timeout. New Hampshire responded with a 10-2 run over the final 3:34 to take a 16-11 buffer into the second.
 
Led by Katie McKie (Austin, Texas) and Rolling, UMass Lowell went on an 8-0 run to take a 19-18 lead, before both teams traded spurts to have the game knotted at 23-23 with 5:55 left in the first half.
 
With help from a pair of 5-0 sparks, the Wildcats scored 15 of the last 17 points in the opening 20 minutes to open their halftime edge.
 
Three New Hampshire players finished the night in double-figures, led by Kali Grimm's 15 points off the bench. Ivy Gogolin and Kari Brekke each scored 10 points in the effort.
 
The River Hawks begin a brief two-game road swing with a Saturday afternoon matinee in Baltimore against UMBC, tip is set for 1 p.m.