STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Sophomore Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) recorded her ninth-straight double-digit contest as the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (11-10, 7-1 AE) suffered their first America East loss to top seeded Stony Brook (20-1, 8-0 AE) on Wednesday night at the IFCU Arena.
 
"We got beat by a better team today," commented head coach Tom Garrick. "Going into the half it was a seven-point game and we were right there, but we started to let go in the fourth quarter. It's a learning experience and growth opportunity, which I hope our players take moving forward."
 
Idom finished off the night with a team-high of 14 points, while junior Tiahna Sears (Bunbury, Aus.) pitched in nine rebounds. Freshman Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) rounded out the scorers with seven points, including four steals.
 
After the River Hawks snagged the opening tip Stony Brook would go on the attack for the next nine minutes, registering points from two lone Seawolves, India Pagan and Cheyenne Clark, pulling the home team ahead, 14-0. Ending the drought for the River Hawks Idom connected on a pull-up jumper with a little over a minute to go in the first.
 
A Sears layup to open the second quarter was all the squad needed, sparking their best run of the contest and holding the Seawolves to a scoreless two minutes. Points coming from senior Brianne Stiers (Denver, Colo.) and a free throw opportunity by Sears were able to cut the deficit in half, 16-8, with seven minutes remaining in the half.
 
A triple by the Seawolves would end the River Hawk run but Price would respond with one of her own to trim the Stony Brook lead by seven points. After a Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) layup the River Hawks remaining points would come off of free throw chances by Idom and freshman Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) as the visitors trailed, 26-19, at the half.
 
Kicking-off the second half with a 5-0 spurt from Idom and Sanchez the Seawolves would counter with a run of their own, giving the home team an 11-point lead with just under five minutes left. Another triple from Idom would give her, her 11th point of the night before Stony Brook increased their lead to 43-29, heading into the final stretch.
 
With Sears and Price registering the opening points of the fourth, Stony Brook would counter with their second largest run of the game to pull the home team away, 60-41.
 
Up next, the River Hawks will continue their road journey with a trip to Durham, N.H. to face off against the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.