LOWELL, Mass. -- Led by three River Hawk double-figure scorers, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (3-3, 2-1 AE) battled Stony Brook (4-3, 2-1 AE) to a thrilling, 63-60, victory on Sunday afternoon at Costello Athletic Center.
 
With the win, the River Hawks snapped a 14-game skid with the Seawolves, picking up their first victory against them at the Division I level.  
 
Junior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) and sophomore Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) posted a team-high 18 points in the outing. Sophomore Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added to the offense with a season-best 10 points, while grabbing a career-high nine rebounds. As a unit, the River Hawks shot a season-best 43 percent from the floor.
 
"I was really proud of our teams fight and ability to have short memories today," commented head coach Tom Garrick. "The first half was more of a struggle for us, having a hard time getting in our rhythm due to the Stony Brooks defense. Overall, I thought the players showed a lot of resilience, fighting back for an amazing third quarter and holding on for the win."
 
The visitors started the contest strong, putting up nine points in the opening minutes. It wasn't until after the first media timeout that sophomore Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) caught a pass from Sanchez to finally get the River Hawks on the board. Points were added from Sanchez and redshirt-senior Niya Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in the following minutes, but the Seawolves held steady with a 16-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.
 
Continuing their run into the second, Stony Brook would extend their point total with consecutive points in the paint, increasing their score 25-9 by the second media timeout. Gaining momentum off of back-to-back three pointers from Price and Idom, the River Hawks were able to cut the visitors lead to nine as they headed into the half trailing, 31-22.
 
The visitors tallied the first point coming out of halftime, but Solis answered with second chance points to cut the gap within one, 34-33 with 4:50 left to go in the third. Following the media timeout, the River Hawks came out firing, using a 18-8 run with key points in the paint from Sanchez and Price to grab a seven-point lead heading into the final frame at 49-42.
 
The home team would continue their tear into the fourth on a 5-0 run from Solis and Idom to give the River Hawks their first double-digit lead of the day, 54-44 with seven minutes to go. Stony Brook would trim the gap in a last-ditch effort off of three-point opportunities in the final minutes, but the home team would hold steady on the foul line, securing the win, 63-60.  
 
The River Hawks will continue their home-stand with Stony Brook tomorrow afternoon. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.