BOSTON – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (0-1) fell to the Boston University Terriers (1-0) on a last-minute shot in Monday night's season opener at Case Gymnasium.
 
Senior Leilani Rodriguez (Springfield, Mass.) led the team with 20 points and shot 4-5 from behind the arc. Freshman Maddie Rice (Charlottesville, Va.) added 10 points and three rebounds. Redshirt-junior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored nine points and led the team with nine rebounds, four assists and four steals.

"I thought our whole roster showed up and showed out tonight. A lot of grit, determination and just not wanting to be denied from our group tonight," said head coach Denise King. "This one will sting a bit, with how it ended, but it'll help us grow down the road. The freshmen didn't look like freshmen tonight and I saw a lot of good signs in each of them. I'm excited about what they did tonight and excited to continue to develop their abilities." 
 
The River Hawks opened with great energy and scored on the first possession behind a jumper from senior Sydney Coombs (Newmarket, N.H.). Boston University had a significant size advantage, but UMass Lowell's early pressure forced two turnovers in the opening three minutes. Graduate student Mili Carrera (Lima, Peru) knocked down her first triple of the year before the Terriers answered with a three of their own.
 
UMass Lowell led 10-7 at the first media timeout, but the Terriers went on a run to take an 11-10 lead in the final minute of the first quarter. Leilani Rodriguez hit a jumper to give the River Hawks a 12-11 lead at the end of the first.
 
Rodriguez opened the second quarter with a triple to push the UMass Lowell lead to four. The River Hawks had back-to-back stops on the defensive end but a three by the Terriers cut the lead down to one. Boston University went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-15 lead and forced UMass Lowell to call timeout with 6:58 to play in the second quarter.
 
A pair of free throws from Rodriguez broke a scoreless drought of over three minutes for the River Hawks, but the Terriers answered on the next possession with a jumper to push the lead back to eight. Boston University's 19-4 run over six minutes put the hosts ahead by 11 as the half approached the final three minutes.
 
Rodriguez knocked a much-needed triple to bring the River Hawks within nine, but an immediate answer on the other end pushed the lead back to 12 points. Another three from Rodriguez brought the deficit to single digits late in the quarter. Boston University outscored UMass Lowell 23-13 in the second quarter and took a 34-25 lead into the half.
 
Leilani Rodriguez led the River Hawks with 13 first half points shooting 4-8 from the field and 3-4 from behind the arc. UMass Lowell had eight first half turnovers while Boston University had seven.
 
Maddie Rice and freshman Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) scored their first collegiate baskets in the first four minutes of the second half to keep the River Hawks within nine points. Durant then came up with a big block just before the Terriers took a 46-35 lead at the media timeout. Maddie Rice scored right out of the break to again cut the lead to single digits.
 
Freshman Abbey Lindsey (Staten Island, N.Y.) got her first career points with a slick layup to cut the lead to seven. After a defensive stop, Rice hit another layup to bring UMass Lowell within five and force the Terriers into a timeout. The River Hawks outscored the Terriers 18-14 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to just five points heading into the final frame.
 
The River Hawks battled every possession in the fourth looking to make a comeback. Milia Carrera and Abbey Lindsey both hit layups to cut the lead down once again to four. Leilani Rodriguez knocked down a big three with just over five minutes to play to make a one-point game.
 
Rayne Durant knocked down a jumper with under four minutes to play to give the River Hawks a one-point lead, her third make of the night. The Terriers then took a two-point lead with 2:20 to play with a pair of free throws. UMass Lowell answered with another jumper from Rice, tying the game again. Down by two with possession and 38.2 seconds left to play, the River Hawks called timeout.
 
Out of the break, Rodriguez was fouled on a three-point attempt, sending the senior to the line to shoot three. The veteran hit two of three to tie the game with 19.8 seconds. The Terriers held on for the last possession and won the game with a buzzer beater, taking the contest 60-58.
 
UMass Lowell returns to action on Friday, November 10 at Rhode Island. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. at the Ryan Center.