DURHAM, N.H. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team saw New Hampshire pull away in the final minutes in the hosts' 54-46 victory in America East action on Wednesday night.
 
The River Hawks (6-17, 2-8) held a 44-41 lead with 4:20 to play, but the Wildcats (5-18, 2-8) were able to close the contest on a 15-2 run to sweep the season series.
 
Brianna Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) led the visitors with 15 points, all of which came after the first quarter, and she added a game-high five steals.
 
"I am just a little disappointed," remarked Head Coach Tom Garrick. "I thought we had a chance to win a basketball game tonight and that we came in prepared and ready. We just cannot have 23 turnovers on the road in a conference game, and that is what did us in. We did not handle their pressure well in the second half and it came back to bite us just enough to lose."
 
Trailing 28-23 at the half, UMass Lowell scored the first 10 points of the third quarter, four coming from Oda Shackelford (Edinburgh, Ind.) and retook the lead at 33-28. The squads traded baskets the rest of the way and the visitors kept a 38-37 edge heading into the final quarter.
 
Linda Svenne (Riga, Latvia) scored the game's first five points as the visitors jumped out to a five-point advantage and held the hosts scoreless for over three minutes to begin the night.
 
UNH was able to take its first lead of night with a 9-0 run, and maintained a the four-point edge with a 13-9 buffer with 72 seconds left in the opening quarter. Behind five points from Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) in the final minute, including a corner three-pointer with 19 seconds remaining, the River Hawks took a 14-13 edge into the second.
 
Rudolph scored five of her nine second quarter points in the opening 1:09 to build a 19-15 lead for the River Hawks. The Wildcats would retake the lead with six unanswered, but Rudolph traded baskets and the contest was knotted 23-23 with 2:02 remaining in the first half.
 
UNH used its second spurt of the period to open a 28-23 halftime advantage, holding the visitors to one shot over the final two minutes.
 
Kari Brekke (16 points) and Amanda Torres (12 points) led the way for the Wildcats, as all four of Brekke's field goals came from behind the arc. The duo also combined for eight of their team's 15 free throws.
 
The River Hawks return home for the first time since January 23 and host Stony Brook on February 9 at 1 p.m.