LOWELL, Mass. – Led by three River Hawk double-figure scorers, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (10-9, 6-0 AE) battled UAlbany (6-13, 2-4 AE) in a thrilling, 53-51, victory on Wednesday night at the Tsongas Center to keep their undefeated streak alive in conference action.
 
 Senior Ren'Cia Rolling (Lansing, Ill.) tallied a game-high 15 points and seven rebounds, pitching in four assists and four steals, as well. Sophomore Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla) and Brianne Stiers (Denver, Colo.) rounded out the squad with 10 points apiece.
 
"I'm beyond proud of our players," stated head coach Tom Garrick. "We may have come out a little stale offensively, but our defense carried us today with contributions from everyone that hit the court, which I think has been a trademark of our team thus far."
 
The Great Danes started the contest strong, putting up five points in the opening minutes before the River Hawks were able to grab their first points off an and-1 opportunity from Stiers.
 
Holding the home team to a scoreless two minutes, the Great Danes gained the advantage on a 7-0 spurt, until Rolling drained back-to-back three-pointers for a solo 6-0 run, cutting the deficit, 14-11, to end the frame.
 
The River Hawks found their footing in the early minutes of the second, attacking off of three-pointers from freshman Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Idom to gain their first lead of the contest, 20-16.
 
Adding another and-1 by Stiers and shot from outside the arc by freshman Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.), the River Hawks powered through the final minutes of the second to head into the half with a 28-25 buffer.
 
After the break, the two squads traded points for the opening minutes of the third, including Stiers 10th point of the night off a jumper from Rolling, but the visitors were able to kick-off on a 10-2 run to close out the third with a 42-36 advantage.
 
A 5-0 run by the River Hawks to start the final quarter on a Rolling triple and an Idom layup cut the deficit to one point, in favor of the Great Danes, 42-41. UAlbany's Amanda Kantzy connected on an outside shot to give the visitors a four-point lead at 47-43, but a layup from freshman Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.) and Rolling's fourth triple of the night gave the River Hawks a one-point lead, 48-47.
 
With just under two minutes to play the Great Danes connected on their sixth three-pointer of the night to gain a two-point advantage, 50-48, before Sanchez answered with one of her own to give the River Hawks their final push.
 
Despite a free throw opportunity by the Great Danes with four seconds on the clock, Sanchez and Rolling each connected on two of their own to earn the 53-51 victory.
 
Up next, the River Hawks will welcome Vermont in a Saturday morning tilt set for 11 a.m. at Costello Athletic Center.