LOWELL, Mass. -- Despite outscoring the visiting team in the second half, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (8-5, 7-3 AE) was tripped up by Binghamton (4-8, 4-6 AE), 67-63, on Sunday afternoon at Costello Athletic Center.
 
"We were beaten by a more competitive team today," commented head coach Tom Garrick. "Binghamton got to more loose balls and made some timely shots. They deserved to win today, and they did. We'll learn from this game and hopefully be better for it going forward."
 
The River Hawks, who trailed by as many as 11 in the outing, closed the gap back to just one inside of the last two minutes, but were unable to come any closer.
 
Sophomore Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) posted a team-high 16 points and four assists. Senior Tiahna Sears (Bunbury, Australia) followed closely with 12 points, while junior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. Sophomore Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) paced her squad for the fifth time this season with eight rebounds, as well.
 
Binghamton's Denai Bowman logged a game-high 20 points on 8-for-18 shooting to lead her squad in the decision.
 
A trip to the foul line from Sanchez opened the scoring for the River Hawks, although the Bearcats put together a 10-2 run to pull away, 12-2, at 3:02 in the first. More free points were added to the River Hawk total thanks to senior Linda Svenne (Riga, Latvia) and sophomore Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.) over the final minutes of the first frame to cut the deficit in half, 16-8.
 
Redshirt Niya Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) banked in a layup followed by an and-1 opportunity by Sears to start the second quarter, but back-to-back threes from Binghamton extend the visitors lead. UMass Lowell battled back in the waning minutes of the half though, as Idom and Sanchez knocked down triples of their own, followed by a Sanchez layup in the final second to cut the difference to 36-29 at the break.
 
To open the second half, the River Hawks battled back using nine-straight to equalize the score 38-38 at 5:02 capped off by a Price layup. The two teams traded points over the remaining minutes, evening the score twice, but a Sears layup would be just what the River Hawks needed to gain the upper hand 54-49, heading into the final frame.
 
The River Hawks run was short lived though, as the visitors countered in the early minutes of the fourth off a 13-0 run. Lowell would battle back within three over the final seconds, but a pair of free throws from the Bearcats would seal the deal, 67-63.
 
Up next, the River Hawks will head back out on the road, as they take on UMBC for a series with the Retrievers on Jan. 23 and 24, tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on both days.