December 21 at Merrimack (1 p.m.)
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Twitter: @RiverHawkWBB @RiverHawkNation

LOWELL, Mass. -- The UMass Lowell women's basketball team begins its final road swing of 2019 with a trip to Merrimack to take on the Warriors Saturday afternoon.

LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks are 3-8 overall, picking up all three of their victories in the month of December. Senior Ren'Cia Rolling continues to pace the squad, averaging 11.5 points per game. On the defensive end she leads the America East with 2.5 steals per game. Freshman Denise Solis continues to shine defensively, recording 6.4 rebounds per game, while posting 0.8 blocks. As a unit, UMass Lowell is shooting 34 percent from the field, and 69 percent from the line. 
 
SCOUTING MERRIMACK
The Warriors enter Saturday's matchup with a 5-4 overall record, including 3-1 on their home court. Merrimack is most recently coming off a 75-72 loss against their first Big Ten opponent, Illinois, where a pair of free throws was the deciding factor in the loss. Senior forward Denia Davis-Stewart leads the squad in three different stat categories with 17.3 points per game, 5.1 blocks per game, while shooting 84% from the line. Freshman point guard Jayme DeCesare leads the NEC conference with 3.9 assists on the season.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. MERRIMACK
This will mark the first meeting between the River Hawks and Warriors in the Division I era. UMass Lowell currently leads the all-time series against Merrimack, 29-15, and has won three straight games, including eight of the last ten. The River Hawks last met the Warriors on February 16, 2013 where UMass Lowell picked up a 91-72 win.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks hot start in December was stifled by Dartmouth as they fell to the Big Green, 51-62, on Friday night. Freshman Kaylen Banwareesingh set a career-high with 15 points on seven made field goals, while Solis grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team. Trailing 54-47 with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, sophomore Kharis Idom connected on a fast break layup to bring the score within five points at 54-49, but the Big Green jumped out on a 6-0 run to secure the win.
 
NCAA TOP-100
After snagging a career-high six steals in the victory against LIU, Rolling is now ranked 35th overall in the NCAA. She also leads the squad in minutes, averaging 35.6 per game to sit in the 53rd spot overall. Solis is the only other River Hawk to rank in a statistical category, ranking 62nd overall in the NCAA for free throws made, making 39 out of 55 attempts. Her best game came against Yale (11.21) where she went 6-6 on the line.
 
BANWAREESINGH OFF THE BENCH
After she put together a career game at Providence on Nov. 24, recording a personal-best 11 points and nine rebounds, Kaylen Banwareesingh continues to make a splash off the bench, setting a new career-high with 15 points in the contest against Dartmouth, shooting 63 percent in the paint.
 
SHE'S ON A ROLL
After setting her career-high six steals in the contest against LIU, Ren'Cia Rolling sits in the top spot among America East players with 2.5 steals per game, helping the squad earn the top spot as well, with 9.8.
 
LEAD THE WAY
UMass Lowell saw themselves with the lead heading into the half for the first time this season in their victory over LIU. Going on a solo 4-0 run, Sanchez drained her free throws to put the River Hawks over the Sharks, 37-21 at the half. In the second, the River Hawks went on to take their largest lead over an opponent this season in a margin of 29 points to secure the win.
 
THAT 3-0 FEELIN
For the first time since the 2014-15 season the River Hawks won three consecutive games with their victories against Bryant (55-35), Central Connecticut (56-54) and LIU (65-56). UMass Lowell defeated New Hampshire (70-65), Vermont (72-64) and NJIT (60-51) back in 2015 to finish out their season on a three-game win streak.
 
FAST BREAK FINISH
In the win over Central Connecticut the River Hawks saw a season-high 24 points off fast break opportunities, with UMass Lowell forcing 23 turnovers for the Blue Devils.
 
FREE POINTS
The River Hawks saw their best free throw percentage of the season at Bryant, going 9-for-11 (81.8%) on the line. Kharis Idom hit all three of her shots increasing her season total to 75%. 
 
EIGHT IN A ROW
Through the past eight games, Ren'Cia Rolling has scored 10 or more points for the River Hawks, which includes matching her career-high 19 points in the 56-54 win against Central Connecticut (12.5).
 
SOLIS STARTS SOLID
Solis has had a great start to her River Hawk career with six games for 10+ points. She registered a career-high 18 points at Colgate and a career-high nine rebounds against UMass. She has averaged 4.4 points in the first half of games and 6.6 points in the second half through 11 games this season.
 
CONNECT FOUR
In three contests this season, four different River Hawks have found themselves in double-digit point territory. Jaliena Sanchez, Ren'Cia Rolling and Denise Solis have each recorded 10 or more points in the matchups with UMass (11.14), Yale (11.21) and Cornell (11.27). Shamyjha Price saw multi-point efforts in both the UMass and Cornell games, while Chasidey Willis notched 10 points against Yale.
 
A DIME A DOZEN
The River Hawks secured a season-high with 15 assists on 19 made field goals in the battle against Cornell (11.27). With her career-high six assists in the contest, Sanchez is averaging a team-best 2.5 dimes per game this season.
 
PROTECT THE HOUSE
Solis currently leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game for the River Hawks, which ranks 10th among America East players. Her 2.9 offensive rebounds per game is second in the conference, helping the squad earn the third spot overall with 12.8 offensive rebounds per game.
 
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBO
The River Hawks used a different starting lineup combination in the first five contests this season, with Denise Solis being consistent through every game. The last six lineups have featured appearances from Jaliena Sanchez, Kharis Idom, Ren'Cia Rolling, Chasidey Willis and Solis.