BURLINGTON, Vt. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team could not complete the series sweep of Vermont, as the visitors fell 52-42 in America East action on Saturday afternoon.
 
Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) scored a game-high 18 points for the River Hawks (6-16, 2-7), but the Catamounts (9-12, 5-4) outscored UMass Lowell 31-20 in the second half to pull out the victory. With two assists, Ren'Cia Rolling (Lansing, Ill.) became UMass Lowell's Division I single-season assist leader with 104 helpers.
 
On Linda Svenne's game opening three-pointer, Rolling dished her 103rd assist on the season and took over the top spot on Angel Agoth's (Rochester, Minn.) bucket with 2:15 left in regulation.

"I was proud of our fight with being so undermanned," commented Head Coach Tom Garrick. "We had to play some ladies who have not played big minutes and they showed admirably. We just have to continue to clean some things up offensively, but I thought we played well on the defensive side of the ball today."
 
Coming out the opening media timeout of the afternoon with UMass Lowell facing a 6-5 deficit, Rudolph went on a personal 6-0 run and pushed the visitors on top, 11-5. Vermont connected on a three in the final minute to cut the lead to three points heading into the second.
 
The River Hawks sandwiched a pair runs of three and four around a Vermont three to build an 18-11 buffer in the first four minutes of the second quarter. After another mini spurt extended the gap to 22-13 with under five to go in the half, Vermont closed the first 20 minutes on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to one point at the break.
 
Rudolph led all scorers at the break with 11 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field with no other player hitting more than three shots in the opening two quarters.
 
The hosts continued the run into the third and took a 23-22 lead, their first since the opening minutes. Both teams traded baskets with the River Hawks jumping back in the lead at 27-26. Vermont was able to close the third on an 8-3 run and entered the final quarter with a 35-28 advantage.
 
A pair of Catamounts reached double-figures, as Candice Wright and Josie Larkins netted 15 and 10 points, respectively. Wright also picked up a double-double with 10 rebounds.
 
The River Hawks wrap up their three-game road swing with a quick trip to New Hampshire for a matchup with the Wildcats on February 5 at 7 p.m.