LOWELL, Mass. – Searching for its first league win of the season, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (1-11, 0-2 AE) will host the UAlbany Great Danes (9-8, 3-0 AE) on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center.
 
January 7 vs. UAlbany (ESPN3 -- 7 p.m.)
 
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LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks are back home for a second America East game at home this season. UMass Lowell is 0-2 in league play to start the year and will look to pick up its first win against a strong UAlbany team. Last time out, Kaylen Banwareesingh recorded her fifth career double-double and second of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds as the River Hawks fell 70-63 in overtime at Maine on Wednesday. Ivory Finley added a team-high 14 points while Amaya Dowdy (13) and Jaini Edmonds (11) scored double-digit points as well.
 
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
UAlbany was the preseason favorite and is off to a hot start in the league action this season. The Great Danes have wins over Vermont and New Hampshire and improved to 3-0 in conference action with a 61-53 win over UMBC on Wednesday night. Three players average over 12 points per game, led by Ellen Hahne and Helene Haegerstrand who sit third and fourth in the league in scoring. UAlbany is second in America East, shooting 42% from the field.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would be a 12th win over UAlbany in program history. A win would also be the first conference win of the season for the River Hawks.  
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Jaini Edmonds and Ivory Finley lead the team averaging 9.6 points per game. Kaylen Banwareesingh is averaging 9.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Edmonds' 17 made threes is also a team high. Ivory Finley and Jaliena Sanchez lead the team with 19 and 18 steals this season, respectively. Amaya Dowdy has totaled 18 blocks to lead the team, including five against Fairleigh Dickinson. Dowdy is also shooting a team-high 41% this season on 36-88 shooting. Jaliena Sanchez has seen the most game action of all River Hawks this season, averaging 36.1 minutes per game through 10 contests. 
 
WATCH THOSE HANDS
Through twelve games this season, UMass Lowell has tallied 91 steals. Ivory Finley and Jaliena Sanchez lead the team with 19 and 18, respectively, while Mili Carrera has 11 and Kaylen Banwareesingh and Ella Ner have ten each. As a unit, UMass Lowell had a season-best 14 steals against Boston University.
 
CONFERENCE RANKS
The River Hawks rank first in the conference in blocks per game with 3.4 through twelve games. Amaya Dowdy leads the league averaging 1.5 blocks per game. Ivory Finley sits fourth in the league in free throw percentage shooting 76% from the charity stripe. As a unit, UMass Lowell is top of the conference shooting 74% from the line. The team also is third in the league with 7.6 steals per game. 
 
FREE THROWS
UMass Lowell is 74% from the free throw line as a unit and first in the league. Jaliena Sanchez has made 31 of her 41 attempts and Ivory Finley is 32-42. Jaini Edmonds is near perfect from the stripe at 18-19 and Kaylen Banwareesingh is 15-21 this season.