ORONO, Maine -- Despite sophomore Denise Solis (Windsor, Conn.) and senior Linda Svenne's (Riga, Latvia) perfect shooting from the line, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (9-7, 8-5 AE) fell on the road to Maine (13-1, 10-1 AE) on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium.
 
"Maine outplayed us in every facet," commented head coach Tom Garrick. "Getting outplayed sometimes happens, but you can't get outworked. We'll get back to the drawing board and see if we can correct some technical things for tomorrow. Mostly, we've got to compete better."
 
The River Hawks were led by Solis who shot 4-for-4 from the free throw line en route to 12 points. She was joined in double figures by classmate Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) with 10 points. Senior Tiahna Sears (Bunbury, Australia) posted a team-high seven rebounds, while junior Kharis Idom (Orlando, Fla.) added two steals.
 
UMass Lowell won the opening tip, jumping out to 4-2 lead with the help of back-to-back jumpers from Idom and sophomore Shamyjha Price (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Although, the River Hawk advantage was short lived as the Black Bears used 15-straight over the next five minutes to grab the lead, 17-4. Battling back over the final minutes, Sanchez would put up her first triple of the day followed by a Solis set of free throws for a 5-0 spurt to end the first frame, 22-9.
 
Solis continued her reign into the second, putting up the first two baskets for the River Hawks. However, Maine would counter with an 8-0 run to extend their lead, 30-13, by 6:46. UMass Lowell battled back in the waning minutes of the half though, as four different River Hawks took trips to the line; Svenne, Sanchez, Sears and Idom, shooting 11-for-14 over the remaining five minutes to cut the difference to just 39-26 at the half.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Black Bears outscored the River Hawks, 8-0, extending their margin to 47-26 by the eight-minute mark. Solis knocked down more points from the line to put her team within 21, 55-34, to close out the third.
 
The Black Bears would take their largest lead of the day in the final frame, 77-42. Idom would tally the River Hawks final three points, but the Black Bears would secure the win in an 81-49 outcome.
 
UMass Lowell and Maine will close out the weekend series tomorrow, Sunday, February 7 with a 1 p.m. tip from Memorial Gym.