LOWELL, Mass. -- Junior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) and sophomore Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) totaled a season-best 13 points each to pace four double-digit scorers for the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (1-2) in a 69-59 win against Northeastern (0-1) on Wednesday in the team's 2020-21 home opener.

"I'm glad the team was able to get in the win colum today," commented head coach Tom Garrick. "We played against a tough and scrappy Northeastern team, which presented some challenges. I thought we had some good performances today all around, although we might've been a little sluggish to start, we were able to pick up our effort at the end."
 
The first half saw four tied scores before the River Hawks put together a 35-point effort in the second to pull away for the victory.
 
Sophomores Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) and Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the River Hawks with 12 points apiece, while Tiahna Sears (Bunbury, Australia) added a team-high 12 rebounds for the third consecutive game. A total of eight different River Hawks contributed to the offense on the day for a new season high, as well.
 
The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes, before Sears took-off down the court for a fast-break layup, followed with a jumper from redshirt-senior Niya Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to give the River Hawks an early, 11-5 edge with 4:43 left in the first. But the visitors would remain hot on the River Hawks heels, trimming the gap 16-13 by the first quarter buzzer.
 
A 9-0 Northeastern spurt to start-off the second would give the Huskies their third lead of the game, but Idom would knock down a jumper in the paint, sparking a 9-0 run of their own that extended the River Hawks' advantage to 25-22 at 6:31. The teams bounced back-and-forth in the waning minutes, until Solis went in for the layup before the buzzer to give the home team a 34-32 lead heading into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks continued their run thanks to a three from Jaliena Sanchez, although the Huskies battled to even the board once more in the next six minutes, tying it up 42-42. However, a 6-0 offensive spurt from Banwareesingh would give the River Hawks the buffer they needed, 50-47, heading into the final stretch.
 
The Huskies would come out on the attack once again, cutting the deficit to just one point in the opening minutes of the fourth at 52-51. But the River Hawks would use a 9-2 run over the remaining two minutes to seal the deal, 69-59.
 
Wednesday's contest marked the first meeting between UMass Lowell and Northeastern in the sport of women's basketball. UMass Lowell now leads the all-time series, 1-0. Up next, the River Hawks will open America East Conference competition with a two-game series at Vermont on Saturday, Dec. 19 (3 p.m.) and Sunday, Dec. 20 (2 p.m.).

"At every phase of the game we need to keep getting better," exclaimed Garrick. "Defensive rebounds, keeping the ball in front of us, pressure defense, there's a lot of work to be done, but I think we are where we are supposed to be heading into conference."