NEWARK, N.J. – Sophomore Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and senior Tiahna Sears (Bunbury, Australia) each turned in 10+ point performances to help propel the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (4-4, 3-2 AE) to a closely-contested, 58-53 victory against conference newcomer NJIT (2-7, 2-3 AE) on Saturday evening at the NJIT Wellness & Events Center.
 
"I was happy with the effort put forth by our players this afternoon," commented head coach Tom Garrick. "Getting off of a bus after a four-hour ride and straight into game time isn't the easiest thing to do. We faced a hard playing NJIT squad and hung on for the win. I'm excited to see how we handle the back-to-back tomorrow."
 
Price knocked down a career-high eight free throws en route to a game- and season-high 16 points, while Sears picked up her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Sophomore Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points. As a team, the River Hawks totaled a season-high 13 steals, forcing 23 NJIT turnovers.
 
After the River Hawks secure the opening tip, the Highlanders jumped out to a quick, 7-0 edge before sophomore Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) fed a pass to Price from up top to put UMass Lowell on the board. The River Hawks were within three following Price's first triple of the night, but NJIT added another basket to hold their lead, 12-7, by the end of the first.
 
The River Hawks gained momentum in the early minutes of the second with shots coming from Sears and sophomore Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.), redshirt-senior Niya Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added to the total with a shot from outside the arc at 7:19 to neutralize the score 14-14.
 
The Highlanders were able to tally the next four points and take the lead once again, but a 10-3 run with free throws from Solis and Sears in the waning minutes gave the visitors a slight, 27-22 edge at the break.
 
NJIT registered eight of the first 11 points coming out of halftime to knot the score 30-30, but Banwareesingh would knock down a jumper followed by a set of free throws to gain the upper hand with 3:27 to go in the third. After a trip to the line from junior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) the River Hawks saw their largest lead of the contest, 41-32, heading into the final stretch.

After a free throw opportunity from Sears to start the fourth, NJIT battled back, sinking a set of their own to pull within two at the 7:23 mark. The River Hawks fell behind by one during a four-minute scoreless stretch, but Sears snapped the silence, drawing a foul to knock down her second shot to force yet another tie, this time at 47-47, with 2:08 to go.
 
The score was even two more before Price, Sears and Solis combined for seven points, igniting a 7-2 spurt to secure the win for the visitors.
 
The River Hawks now hold a 2-1 all-time advantage over the Highlanders. The squad returns to action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. for their second game against NJIT.