LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) totaled a season-best 21 points to pace four double-digit scorers for the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (10-8, 9-6 AE) in a 74-40 win against New Hampshire (5-12, 5-9 AE) on Saturday afternoon at Costello Athletic Center.
 
"I was very pleased with our defensive intensity today," commented head coach Tom Garrick. "Not only were we in tune with our defensive principles, we were giving the extra effort to finish possessions. The test now is to see if we can match today's effort, tomorrow, and duplicate some of the things that we were doing successfully."
 
Idom, who matched her personal-best of nine field goals, was joined in double figures by sophomore Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.), who logged her 11th double-digit performance this season with 14 points. Classmate Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) posted 13 points and a season-high six steals, in addition to senior Tiahna Sears (Bunbury, Australia), who finished with 12. Sophomore Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the charge defensively with six rebounds and two blocks
 
As a team, UMass Lowell shot a season-best 57.1 percent (32-56) from the field, while tallying 22 steals and 35 points off of turnovers, both of which were also season highs.
 
The Wildcats attacked in the opening minutes of the contest, holding the River Hawks scoreless to grab an early 6-0 lead. However, a Sanchez jumper would spark the home team's first major run of the afternoon, serving 11 unanswered points to take their first lead, 11-6, at 4:04. UNH followed with free points to make it a one-possession game, but UMass Lowell would extend its margin to seven, 20-13, on a layup from Idom to close out the first frame.
 
Coming out swinging, a steal from Sears led to a triple from Sanchez and a field goal from Price for the first points of the second quarter. The visitors answered with five of the next seven points to cut the difference to 11, however they were unable to come any closer, as UMass Lowell capped off another 11-0 run with a put-back from Sears and a long ball from Idom to pull away, 40-21, at the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, Solis converted down low on back-to-back trips to extend their team's buffer to 28. The River Hawks would hold the Wildcats to just three points in the paint, outscoring the visitors 17-8 in the third quarter.
 
The visitors pulled within 21 on one occasion until the River Hawks used a 16-3 run to put the game out of reach, 59-37, at 7:41. UMass Lowell led by as many as 34 in the final minutes of the victory. 
 
The River Hawks and Wildcats are back at it tomorrow afternoon, as the teams square off at 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 14.