CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (0-6, 0-0 AE) fell to the Harvard Crimson (3-4, 0-0 IVY) by a score of 86-66 on Wednesday night.
 
Junior Jaini Edmonds (Worcester, Mass.) scored a season-high 16 points and went 4-5 from three to lead the team. She added three assists and two steals. Senior Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) scored 14 points and added a game-high seven assists. Sophomore Ivory Finley (Minneapolis, Minn.) tallied eight points and shot 2-3 from behind the arc. The River Hawks scored a season-high 63 points and shot a season-high 48% on the night.
 
Harvard got off to a hot start from the floor, knocking down a three on the first possession and opening a 16-0 lead at the media timeout of the first quarter. The Crimson's full court press gave the River Hawks fits in their own end, with six turnovers in the opening frame. The hosts shot 6-8 to open the game while UMass Lowell went 0-4 from the floor. Jaliena Sanchez got the River Hawks on the board with 2:41 left in the first. Harvard led 24-7 after 10 minutes.
 
UMass Lowell settled into the game in the second quarter and started to hit more shots on the offensive end. The team shot 4-7 at the midway mark and trailed 32-16 at the media break. Out of the timeout, Jaini Edmonds and Jaliena Sanchez scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the into the lead. Edmonds knocked down three straight triples as the River Hawks clawed their way back into the game, trailing 39-25 with two minutes to play in the half. The junior shot 4-5 from three and led the team with 14 points as Harvard held a 44-33 edge at the half.
 
The third quarter has not been kind to the River Hawks this season, but the team came out firing against the Crimson. Jaini Edmonds continued to have the hot hand and Jaliena Sanchez found an offensive rhythm to keep UMass Lowell within striking distance. Harvard had three turnovers that allowed the River Hawks to get the ball back and chip away at the lead. Ivory Finley hit a big three to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the first quarter. UMass Lowell stayed within 10 points until the end of the third, but the team foul trouble allowed Harvard to push the lead to 70-49 heading into the fourth.
 
In the final quarter, the River Hawks continued to battle to chip away at the Harvard lead. The deficit was 19 at the media timeout with UMass Lowell hitting two of its first three shots of the quarter. Harvard kept the River Hawks at a distance and closed out the game, improving to 4-4 with an 86-66 victory. UMass Lowell falls to 0-6 this season.
 
Next up for the River Hawks is an afternoon matchup with Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, December 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Teaneck, New Jersey.