November 9 vs. Boston University (6 p.m.)

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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team begins the 2021-22 season with a visit to Boston University to take on the Terriers on Tuesday, November 9 at 6 p.m. at Case Gymnasium.
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks open the season against in-state foe Boston University, the first meeting between the teams since November 2016.
 
SCOUTING BOSTON UNIVERSITY
The Terriers finished last season with a 12-3 overall record and made a Patriot League Tournament Championship game appearance. Boston University fell to Lehigh University in the championship game by a score of 64-54. Head Coach Melissa Graves will begin her first season at the helm for the Terriers after taking over in April 2021.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would be the first opening day victory for the River Hawks since the 2012-13 season and would also give UMass Lowell a slight edge in the series against Boston University.
 
PRESEASON HONORS
Junior Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) was named to the America East Preseason All-Conference Team, as announced by the America East Conference in October.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Solis averaged 11.6 points per game, picked up a team best 119 boards, and tallied 20 blocks. Senior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) averaged 10.5 points per game and a team-high 32 three-pointers last season. Junior Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) tallied a team-high 57 assists last season and averaged 9.2 points a game.
 
OUT OF THE GATE
UMass Lowell has registered a 22-24 record in season openers since 1975,
including a 5-9 mark since the 2006-07 season. In season openers on the
road, the team owns an 3-13 record.
 
NEW TO THE NEST
King's first season at the helm brings three newcomers to the River Hawks in 2021-22. The group includes two freshmen guards (Tasha Lima and Ivory Finley) and one forward (Amaya Dowdy).
 
VETERAN PRESENCE
"Our junior class has been instrumental in what we've done here. Jaliena and Kharis have been important to our team over the last few years and the team looks to them for guidance and support. This junior class is a special group that's going to lead us."- Coach King
 
WELCOME BACK
The River Hawks are returning four of their five starters from 2020-21.  Additionally, with nine experienced veterans back, the team returns plenty of scoring and leadership to begin the new campaign.
 
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Kharis Idom saw plenty of action during her junior year campaign. The 5í8 guard was the only River Hawk to start in all 21 games for an average of 31.4 minutes per game.
 
WATCH THOSE HANDS
The squad ranked second in the America East in 2020-21 with a new DI program-best 8.7 steals per game last year. Jaliena Sanchez ranked individually in the top ten with 1.7 steals for sixth place.
 
OFF THE BENCH
The River Hawks hope to have as much bench pressure as they did last year when the team averaged almost 12.4 points per game.