LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) tossed in a season-high 20 points as the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (11-8, 10-6 AE) topped the New Hampshire Wildcats (5-13, 5-10 AE) by a final score of 73-52 at Costello Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon. The win gives the River Hawks their third weekend sweep of the season.
 
"We came back today with the right attitude and approach," commented head coach Tom Garrick. "The second day is always tough, mentally more than physically, so I'm really proud of the team effort. The first five minutes of the game were a bit of a rock fight, but we were able to get control and really take off in the second."  
 
Solis's 20 would be the sixth double-digit point performance from a River Hawk this weekend, as she set the tone with 8-for-12 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Classmate Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.) put together a career-day, picking up a personal-best 18 points off the bench, including a team-high of six rebounds.  Junior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) added nine points to the River Hawk total, along with a team-best four steals and three assists.
 
Lowell struggled in the first quarter on their accuracy, shooting just over 38 percent from the floor compared to the Wildcats 75 percent. New Hampshire maintained a three-possession buffer during that stretch until senior Tiahna Sears (Bunbury, Australia) drained a step-back jumper to spark a mini 5-0 run, giving the River Hawks their first lead of day, 7-6. The Wildcats would battle-back once more, using consecutive chances from the line to snag the lead again, 18-14, by the end of the first frame.
 
The teams continued the offensive showdown with back-to-back trips to start the second before sophomore Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.) put up a jumper to give the River Hawks their first major run of the day. Tallying 16 points in the paint to the Wildcats two, the River Hawks grabbed onto a seven-point lead, 30-22, at 2:14. UNH would add the next three points, but free throws from Sears and Sanchez would hold the River Hawk lead, 33-26, heading into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the visiting team worked its way back within five, but Solis responded with four straight points followed by points down low from Banwareesingh and freshman Jaini Edmonds (Worcester, Mass.), as part of an 8-0 River Hawk run that stretched the lead to 55-40 at the end of the third quarter.
 
The River Hawks would continue their run into the final frame for a 20-point buffer, thanks to a triple from senior Linda Svenne (Riga, Latvia.) at 8:41. Although the Wildcat offense would trim their deficit to 14, the River Hawk defense would not let it get any closer, as the squad was able to make a late 11-3 spurt and lead 73-50 at :49 en route to the win.
 
Prior to the game Sears, Svenne and Niya Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) were honored with a special Senior Day ceremony.