LOWELL, Mass. – Following a second straight conference win, the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (4-21, 3-12 AE) will travel to Durham to take on the New Hampshire Wildcats (7-20, 2-13 AE) in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. Saturday's contest will determine which team will earn a postseason berth.
 
February 25 at UNH (ESPN+ -- 1 p.m.)
 
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All-Time Series: UMass Lowell is 6-13 against New Hampshire in program history.
 
First Meeting:      1977-1978 (UNH, 93-35)
Last Meeting:       January 28, 2023 (UNH, 56-51)
 
The River Hawks and Wildcats meet for the 20th time in program history. New Hampshire won the previous meeting this season in Lowell. 
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks have won back-to-back games for the first time this season, knocking off UMBC 67-64 in the home finale on Wednesday night. Ivory Finley has been a force all season and dropped a career-high 21 points to lead the way over the Retrievers. Mili Carrera and Amaya Dowdy scored 14 and 12 points, respectively while Kaylen Banwareesingh tallied 13 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double double of the year. UMass Lowell is heating up at the right time and will look to secure a postseason berth with a victory over New Hampshire.
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
New Hampshire has struggled of late, losing five straight contests. The Wildcats fell to Maine on Wednesday night, setting the scene for a dramatic game on Sunday to determine who will make the postseason. Despite recent results, New Hampshire is tough opponent with plenty of scoring options. Three players are averaging double figures with Brooke Kane and Avery O'Connor averaging just under 12 points per game and ranking in the top 10 scorers in the conference. O'Connor also sits fourth in the league shooting 31% from distance this season. As a unit, the Wildcats shoot 73% from the free throw line, second only to UMass Lowell's 75% at the line.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would be a third straight win for the River Hawks. A win would also tie the season series against UNH.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Ivory Finley leads the team averaging 10.2 points per game. Fellow sophomore Amaya Dowdy has a team-high 49 blocks and leads the conference averaging 2.0 per game. Dowdy is second on the team with 143 rebounds, behind Kaylen Banwareesingh's 185 rebounds. Jaliena Sanchez has been the main distributor for the River Hawks this season, tallying a team-high 93 assists, third best in the league. Finley and Sanchez have each surpassed 30 steals this season, recording 39 and 38, respectively. The two have also started all 25 games this year, with Sanchez averaging a league-high 36.9 minutes per game.
 
WATCH THOSE HANDS
Through 25 games this season, UMass Lowell has tallied 177 steals. Ivory Finley leads the team with 39 while Jaliena Sanchez has tallied 38. Mili Carrera has 23 and Kaylen Banwareesingh, Amaya Dowdy, Ella Ner and Jaini Edmonds have tallied double digits steals. 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 3.9 through 25 games. Amaya Dowdy leads the league averaging 2.0 blocks per game. The team sits fourth in the league with 7.1 steals per game and Ivory Finley is seventh in the conference with 1.5 steals per game. Kaylen Banwareesingh is fourth in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game.
 
FREE THROWS
UMass Lowell is 75% from the free throw line as a unit and first in the league. Ivory Finley also sits second in the conference from the line, shooting 81% on 75 makes from 93 attempts. Jaliena Sanchez is close behind, shooting 56-77 for 73% from the line.