NEW BRITAIN, CONN. – Senior guard Ren'Cia Rolling (Lansing, Ill.) matched her career-high 19 points, as the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (2-7) secured their second win of the season after an exciting 56-54 victory over Central Connecticut State (0-7) on Thursday night.

Tied at 54-54 with one second on the clock, Rolling put up her eighth field goal of the contest to snag the win at the buzzer.

"That's two in a row with another hard-fought win," stated head coach Tom Garrick. "We didn't play our best basketball game, but we always preach resiliency and intuitiveness. Nothing is going to be perfect, but you can have perfect effort, and I thought that showed in the last three minutes of the game."
 
Freshman Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) set a new career-high with 15 points, while matching her personal-best five rebounds. Fellow classmate Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.) came close to a double-double, recording nine points and eight rebounds in the win.
 
Back and forth action saw a scoreless start to the contest with neither the River Hawks or Blue Devils being able to get a shot off, until junior Ashley Berube connected on a jumper at the seven minute mark for the home team.
 
After another scoreless two minutes, UMass Lowell found their footing when Sanchez made a driving layup to register the first points of the contest for the visitors.
 
After a 6-0 solo run by Rolling, the Blue Devils saw shots from outside the arc by Forever Toppin and a trip to the line by Berube to give them a 29-24 lead heading into halftime.
 
The home team opened the second half with a hot start on a 10-0 run to take their largest lead of the contest, but points in the paint from Rolling and free throw attempts from sophomore Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) saw the visitors chip away at the deficit, 44-39 at the end of the third.
 
Banwareesingh went on a solo 5-0 run, connecting on a two jump shots and a chance at the free throw line to tie the score at 44-44, with just over five minutes remaining.
 
Both teams ensued in a back and forth battle for control in the final moments, with Berube recording her 19th point of the game with 13 seconds left to tie the contest at 54-54.  But it wasn't enough as Rolling hit a pull-up jumper at the buzzer to end the match at 56-54.
 
Up next, the River Hawks cap-off their three-game week with a Sunday afternoon contest at the Tsongas Center against the LIU Sharks. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.