LOWELL, Mass. -- For the first time in Division I history the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (13-14, 9-5 AE) clinched a berth in the 2019-20 America East Tournament and will await final results for the conference standings. Sophomore Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) recorded her 16th consecutive 10-point game despite the River Hawks being dealt a 62-58 loss to Binghamton (18-8, 7-6 AE) on Wednesday night at Costello Athletic Center.
 
An even balance of scoring and defensive effort, every River Hawk that hit the court recorded at least one rebound and two points. Idom lead the charge with 14 points, while freshman Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) added 11 points and six rebounds. Freshman Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) pitched in four assists as well.
 
"Road wins are hard to come by in our conference and Binghamton came in here and did their job," stated head coach Tom Garrick. "We got lackadaisical on defense and we let players who we knew were shooters get open by going under the screen. That's sometimes what you get with an unexperienced team this late in the season, today unfortunately was one of those games for us.
 
Starting off strong with a jumper from Idom, UMass Lowell would set the tone, kicking-off on a 11-0 run with five different River Hawks recording points to put the home team ahead, 15-4, by the first quarter buzzer.
 
Striking off another jump shot from Idom the River Hawks would continue their run into the second, until Binghamton's Clare Traeger would sink one of her own to spark a 7-0 run for the visitors, cutting the deficit 22-15.
 
Hitting her second triple of the night with 2:46 left to play in the half, freshman Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) would go on a solo 5-0 run to give the River Hawks a seven-point buffer heading into the second stretch.
 
Solis opened the second half, driving to the basket, but the Bearcats were able to take control by the end of the third quarter, jumping out on a 7-0 run to equalize the score, 43-43.
 
The visitors attacked first, knocking down a triple less than 15 seconds in the fourth to put Binghamton ahead 46-43. Senior Brianne Stiers (Denver, Colo.) connected on a layup a minute later to put the score back in the River Hawks favor, 47-46.
 
Despite a free throw attempt by freshman Kaylen Banwareesingh's (Bronx, N.Y.), equalizing the score 56-56 with two minutes to go, Binghamton would continue to trim the gap over the final seconds off free throws from Kai Moon, ending the contest at 62-58.
 
Up next the River Hawks will close out the regular season with a trip to UAlbany, set for Wednesday night at 7 p.m., before heading to Vermont in a Saturday afternoon matchup with the Catamounts.