LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (0-10) fell to the Dartmouth Big Green (5-5) 58-52 on Thursday night at the Costello Athletic Center. Graduate student Mili Carrera (Lima, Peru) scored a career-high 25 points on 10-19 shooting and 4-8 from behind the arc.

"Welcome back, Mili. If we didn't have her tonight, the game would have been a different story. I'm glad she had a good game and can feel good about herself after being out for some time," said head coach Denise King. "We cannot start off a game with two wide open threes and miss free throws and expect to win games. We need to minimize mistakes going forward and we need to continue to learn the value of each possession."
 
Carrera added team-highs with eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. Redshirt-junior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, IN) added four rebounds and four assists to go with one steal and three points. Senior Sydney Coombs (Newmarket, N.H.) tallied seven points while fellow senior Leilani Rodriguez (Worcester, Mass.) scored eight.
 
Dartmouth opened the game with back-to-back threes to take an early lead. The River Hawks answered to make it an 8-7 game at the first media. Watkins' active hands gave the Big Green early trouble on offense while a pair of freshmen, Maddie Rice (Charlottesville, Va.) and Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) made big shots to put the hosts ahead. Dartmouth answered late and led by one after 10 minutes.
 
The visitors extended the lead before threes from Rodriguez and freshman Cire Worley (Philadelphia, Penn.) made it one possession game. Mili Carrera' coast-to-coast drive gave the River Hawks a 24-18 lead midway through the quarter. Dartmouth responded with a 9-0 run and took a 29-26 lead at the half.
 
Carrera's three out of the halftime break tied the game before another quick triple from the graduate student gave UMass Lowell the lead once again. Much like the first half, the Big Green went on a run to take the lead back and stay ahead by four at the media.
 
Mili Carrera hit another big three to bring the River Hawks back within one possession, but the visitors held a five-point edge as the quarter ended.
 
A big defensive play by Sydney Watkins transitioned to Carrera's fourth three of the night, bringing the River Hawks within two. Dartmouth scored two quick baskets to push the lead back to six with just over seven minutes to play.
 
The Big Green maintained their lead with five to play. Carrera made a tough layup to surpass her previous career-high of 20 points, but UMass Lowell trailed by 10 with three minutes to go. Dartmouth held off a late surge and hit free throws down the stretch to secure a 58-52 win.
 
Next up, the River Hawks are back at home to host Harvard on Friday, December 22. Tip is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center.