LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell women's basketball team fought with great effort against in-state opponent Massachusetts, but ultimately couldn't deliver as they fell 74-58, on Thursday night at the Tsongas Center.
 
"We got off to a rough start," stated head coach Tom Garrick. "I'm not sure why we were very lethargic and hesitant in our game plan during the first eight minutes, but I think we won the third quarter and showed a lot of promise going into the fourth."
 
Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) scored a game-high 17 points for the River Hawks (0-3), but the Minutewomen (1-2) outscored UMass Lowell 21-8 in the half to pull out the victory.
 
Freshman guard Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) opened the contest by driving to the basket, recording the first two points of the game for the River Hawks.
 
 Massachusetts answered only seconds later with a layup, eventually going on 14-0 run until Sanchez hit a jumper to end the streak.
 
During the first half, Solis went 4-6 on the line to assist the River Hawks in keeping the pace against Massachusetts, making her last two just before the buzzer.
 
Coming out of the locker room, Ren'Cia Rolling (Lansing, Ill.) banked a shot from outside the arc to log eight points in the run against Massachusetts.
 
Nearing the end of the third, freshmen guard Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) fell short on a 3-point shot but succeeded in grabbing her own rebound in order to finish the shot, while drawing a foul along the way.
 
The River Hawks were able to rally over the last couple of minutes of the contest, going on an 8-0 run with points by freshman Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.), Price and Solis.
 
Up next, the River Hawks will make their way west to face off against Big 12 opponent, Kansas, on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
"We'll go pretty hard on Saturday in order to prep for Sunday's game," stated Garrick. "We're going to try and adhere to some of the things we did in the third quarter today. If we can just listen to our game plan and play with heart and passion, then we should be all set for the matchup."