BURLINGTON, VT – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (1-13, 0-4 AE) fell to the Vermont Catamounts (11-6, 3-2 AE) on Wednesday afternoon at Patrick Gym.
 
Junior Jaini Edmonds (Worcester, Mass.) led the team with 14 points and shot 4-8 from behind the arc. Sophomore Amaya Dowdy (Woonsocket, R.I.) was all over the scoresheet with a team-high 10 rebounds and four blocks, with five points and two steals. Senior Jaliena Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) scored six and had a team-high four assists. Fellow senior Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.) added nine rebounds.
 
"I thought it was a good defensive effort for us, but when you hold a team to 42 points, you have to come away with the win," said head coach Denise King. "The league is very even, and every team is going to compete every game, so we know how it goes. We love the battle and we're right there. We'll learn from this and get ready for another tough game this weekend."
 
The River Hawks got off to a strong start in front of a wild crowd at Patrick Gym, shooting 4-6 from the field early on. Jaini Edmonds hit two threes and Amaya Dowdy added four points and two blocks to give the visitors the 10-7 edge at the media timeout. Both teams struggled to knock down shots out of the break, but strong defensive work kept the River Hawks ahead 12-11 after one.
 
Shooting woes continued for both sides in the early stages of the second quarter, with the River Hawks shooting 1-2 and the Catamounts just 1-3 from the field. With the score even at 14, Mili Carrera knocked down a three to restore the lead before Vermont answered with a triple of their own to tie it once again the media break. Both teams added five points in the closing stages of the second and went into the half tied at 21. Jaini Edmonds went 3-5 from deep to lead all scorers with nine first half points while Amaya Dowdy registered three first half blocks.
 
Amaya Dowdy got the River Hawks' offense started in the third with a mid-range jumper to put the visitors in front early in the second half. Vermont regained the lead 28-27 at the media break in the third and stretched it to five with just over two minutes left in the quarter. Jaini Edmonds hit her fourth triple of the afternoon to cut the lead to two heading into the final frame.
 
Both sides started the fourth quarter 0-3 from the field, struggling to find an offensive rhythm. Good defensive work by the River Hawks kept Vermont ahead by one possession, but the visitors could not knock down timely shots. The Catamounts held a slim 36-33 lead at the final media break. An extended possession for the River Hawks drew several fouls and allowed UMass Lowell to chip away at the lead from the stripe. Ivory Finley's pair of free throws cut the deficit to three approaching the 90 seconds. The River Hawks got a big stop with 31 seconds remaining but could not get a shot to fall on the offensive end. Vermont held on to win 40-37 in another hard-fought conference contest.
 
Up next, UMass Lowell will return home to host the Binghamton Bearcats on Saturday, January 14. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center.