January 29 at Stony Brook (6:31 p.m.)
ESPN + | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)
 
February 1 at New Hampshire (12 p.m.)
ESPN3 | Live Stats
 
LOWELL, Mass. -- The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (11-9, 7-0 AE) will head out for a pair of road games, first battling Stony Brook (19-1, 7-0 AE) Wednesday night at the IFCU Arena for the top spot in the conference standings, following a trip to Durham, N.H. for their second matchup with the Wildcats (6-13, 3-4 AE) on Saturday afternoon.
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
After another thrilling performance from the River Hawks, defeating Vermont, 61-47, the squad now improves to 11-9 overall and 7-0 in the America East. Senior Ren'Cia Rolling is the lone River Hawk in double figures, averaging 11.6 ppg while snagging 2.1 steals per game to rank second in the conference. Solis is scoring at a solid 9.8 ppg and is the only River Hawk to play on and start every game. As a unit, UMass Lowell is shooting 36 percent from the field, and 65 percent from the line. 
 
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
Stony Brook is off to their best start in program history with a 19-1 overall record and 7-0 in conference play. The Seawolves have won 16-straight games, the second-longest active streak in the nation. Their sole loss came against Arkansas back in mid-November, falling 88-58. Junior forward India Pagan leads the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game, while posting 5.8 rebounds, as well. Graduate student Cheyenne Clark has snagged a team-high 8.3 rebounds on the season, while guard Kaela Hilaire leads the team with 4.5 assists per game. As a team, the Seawolves are shooting 40 percent from the field and 34 percent from outside the arc.
 
SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
The River Hawks will look for a series sweep heading into Saturday's contest against New Hampshire after defeating the Wildcats 58-53 in the conference opener. New Hampshire is currently 6-13 overall and 3-4 in conference play. Redshirt-senior Ashley Storey continues to lead the Wildcats in scoring with 16.8 points per game. Senior Caroline Soucy leads the team in free throws, shooting 85% from the line for an average of 10.4 points per game. Collectively, UNH is shooting 37 percent from the field and 72 percent from the line.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Led by three double-figure scorers, including Tiahna Sears second double-double of the season, the River Hawks battled through a first-half deficit to take down Vermont, 61-47, on Saturday afternoon. Kharis Idom led the squad with 16 points, including a career-high five steals, while freshman Jaliena Sanchez went 4-for-5 on the line to pitch in 15 points, respectively. Vermont tried to equalize the score by connecting on a three-pointer in the early seconds of the fourth, but back-to-back triples from Sanchez and Idom gave UMass Lowell the extra push they needed to extend their run to 32-7 over the final two quarters to finish out the contest, 61-47, for the River Hawks eighth-straight victory.
 
NCAA TOP-100
Ren'Cia Rolling is ranked 63rd overall in the NCAA for steals with 2.1 on the season, helping the squad earn the 85th spot overall. She also leads the team in overall minutes played, totaling 684 minutes to rank at No. 20. Jaliena Sanchez is the only other River Hawk to rank in a statistical category, ranking 98th overall in the NCAA for free throw attempts, making 54 out of 89 attempts for 60.7%.
 
FROM 0-7 to 7-0
With their wins over Vermont, UAlbany, Maine, Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC and UNH the River Hawks start conference play with a 7-0 record for the first time in Division I history. UMass Lowell last saw opening conference wins against Palm Beach Atlantic (84-76 2OT), Southern New Hampshire (96-82) and Southern Connecticut (77-74) back in the 2012-13 season where the River Hawks ran out on a nine-game win streak.
 
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
With both teams holding steady with their respective win streaks, Wednesday's contest will be the first time in conference history two teams with 7-0 conference records will matchup. Neither team has ever started conference play with an undefeated record.
 
#STREAKS    
For the first time since joining Division I the River Hawks ended two six-year losing streaks against America East opponents, Maine (66-57) and UAlbany (53-51).
 
BIRDS EYE VIEW
UMass Lowell was spotted last in the preseason poll with only twelve points compared to the top contender, Maine, with 64 points. After their seven-game streak the River Hawks now sit in second place overall just behind Stony Brook who is 7-0.
 
TWICE IS NICE
For the second time this season Tiahna Sears posted multi-point efforts with 14 rebounds and 10 points to grab her second-career double-double in the victory against Vermont.
 
RIVER HAWKS FOR 500
Averaging a .550 win percentage, the River Hawks have seen their most successful year in Division I, resulting the latest in the season they have ever been above .500.
 
SNEAKY SANCHEZ
Jaliena Sanchez set a new personal-best, recording eight steals in the win against Maine. She now joins four other River Hawks tied for second place for single-game leaders in steals. The last time this happened was during the 2012-13 season where Bianca Simmons snagged eight in the 73-62 win over St. Anslem.
 
BOARDED UP
In the midst of their seven-game win-streak, the River Hawks have outrebounded their opponents by 8.6 percent, posting 100 offensive and 203 defensive, compared to the oppositions 262 rebounds. UMass Lowell's most impressive performance was against Binghamton, recording 48 rebounds in the contest.
 
A DIME A DOZEN
With her career-high seven assists in the win over Maine, Sanchez is averaging a team-best 2.8 dimes per game this season. As a unit the River Hawks secured a season-high with 18 assists on 22 made field goals in the battle against Hartford (1.8).
 
DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
In both victories over UMBC and FDU, three different River Hawks tallied first-career double-doubles. Tiahna Sears (17 pts, 10 rebs) and Kharis Idom (15 pts, 11 rebs) each posted multi-point efforts in the 75-64 win against UMBC, while Denise Solis grabbed 21 points and 14 rebounds in the overtime victory against FDU, including the game-tying free throws. Solis is the first rookie River Hawk to notch a double-double, since the 2008-09 season where Bianca Simmons posted 28 points and 12 rebounds in the 73-64 win over Le Moyne.
 
CHASING 500
Posting a personal-best 20 points in the win over Binghamton and grabbing another 15 against UAlbany, Ren'Cia Rolling now totals 458 career points. Through the 20 games, Rolling has drained at least one shot from outside the arc in all but two contests, totaling 232 points on the season.
 
BETTER TOGETHER
In the victory against UMBC every River Hawk who hit the court totaled at least two points, repeating last season's matchup against the Retrievers where UMass Lowell came out on top, 62-41. This marks the fifth time in Division I history, recording a 3-2 record between the meetings.
 
SHE'S ON A ROLL
After setting her career-high six steals in the contest against LIU, Ren'Cia Rolling sits in second in the America East with 2.1 steals per game, helping the squad earn the top spot, with 8.65.
 
CONNECT FOUR
In five contests this season, five different River Hawks have found themselves in double-digit point territory.
 
Massachusetts: Solis (17), Price (11) Sanchez (10), Rolling (10)
Yale: Rolling (16), Sanchez (12), Solis (10), Willis (10)
Cornell: Solis (14), Price (11), Sanchez (10), Rolling (10)
FDU: Solis (21), Sanchez (18), Idom (11), Rolling (10)
Maine: Solis (12), Stiers (12), Sanchez (11), Idom (11)
 
PROTECT THE HOUSE
Denise Solis currently leads the team with 5.8 rebounds per game for the River Hawks, which ranks 15th among America East players. Her 2.5 offensive rebounds per game is fourth in the conference, helping the squad earn the third spot overall with 13.7 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 eleven lineups have featured appearances from Sanchez, Idom, Rolling, Willis and Solis, but the most recent games against Vermont, Maine and UAlbany saw the substitution of Willis for Bri Stiers, throwing it back to the first lineup of the season.