LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored a career-high 20 points to lead the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (2-3, 0-0 AE) over the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils (1-4,0-0 NEC) on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Sophomores Sydney Coombs (Newmarket, N.H.) and Leilani Rodriguez (Worcester, Mass.) each scored nine points and grabbed six and four rebounds, respectively. Junior Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) tallied 12 points and six boards.
 
The River Hawks opened the game with strong defensive work, taking a 14-11 lead midway through the quarter. UMass Lowell shot 5-11 from the field and 2-2 from behind the arc at the media timeout. Out of the break, the River Hawks went on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 21-11 at the end of the first quarter. Price led the team with five points in the opening frame.
 
Central Connecticut struggled from the floor in the second quarter, going 0-5 from the field and a scoreless drought of over six minutes. The River Hawks continued to stifle the CCSU offense, limiting them to just seven points in the second quarter, opening their biggest lead of the game at 35-18. UMass Lowell's play in the paint was too much for CCSU, with the River Hawks outrebounding the Blue Devils 19-12 in the first half, grabbing nine defensive boards in the second quarter alone.
 
UMass Lowell started the second half with more strong defensive work and continued to dominate on the glass. CCSU found life after a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 44-31 at the media timeout. The Blue Devils would not go away, knocking down shots and getting stops on the defensive end to cut the lead to 48-37. The River Hawks held onto a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter, 52-40.
 
The Blue Devils battled back with big shots made by Belle Lanpher and Ashley Berube, cutting the deficit to single digits at 56-48. A three from Forever Toppin brought CCSU within six points, trailing 57-51 at the media timeout.  The River Hawks struggled from the floor, going 1-12 over 4:15 in the fourth quarter. CCSU continued to make shots and tied the game at 57-57 with just over three minutes to play. A steal and score followed by a three from Lanpher gave CCSU a 62-58 lead before Rodriguez knocked down three free throws to bring the River Hawks within one.
 
Solis came up with a huge rebound and finish to put UMass Lowell back in front 63-62 with 52 seconds left in the game. Price drained the biggest shot of the game with 28 seconds left, knocking down a three pointer to put the River Hawks up 66-63. She would add to her career-high tally with two free throws with 12 seconds left to extend the UMass Lowell lead 68-63. Senior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) finished the game off, knocking down two free throws to secure a 70-63 win for UMass Lowell, improving to 2-0 at home this season.
 
The River Hawks return to action on December 1, when they head to Ithaca, N.Y. to take on Cornell.