TROY, N.Y. -- The No. 7 UMass Lowell women's basketball team (5-22, 4-12 AE) fell to the No. 2 UAlbany Great Danes (21-10, 14-2 AE) by a score of 59-51 on Wednesday night. The River Hawks' season comes to an end and the Great Danes advance to the conference semifinal game.
 
Sophomore Amaya Dowdy (Woonsocket, R.I.) scored a team-high 12 points and added 11 rebounds to record her fourth double double of the year. Graduate student Mili Carrera (Lima, Peru) added 12 points, shooting 3-6 from distance, and grabbed four rebounds. Senior Kaylen Banwareesingh (Bronx, N.Y.) scored five points and grabbed seven rebounds with two assists. Sophomore Ivory Finley (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored 11 points.
 
The quarterfinal started with both sides struggling from the floor as UMass Lowell shot 2-9 and UAlbany went 2-6 from the field at the first media. The visitors had the early edge thanks to Mili Carrera's early three and junior Jaini Edmonds' (Worcester, Mass.) mid-range jumper. The Great Danes scored out of the break, but Ivory Finley's triple put the River Hawks back in front. A pair of free throws from Amaya Dowdy kept the UMass Lowell ahead by two after one.
 
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the team's exchanging baskets. The Great Danes jumped in front before Dowdy answered with a layup on the following possession. UAlbany got scoring from their bench in the second to build a four-point lead before Jaliena Sanchez knocked down a triple just before the second media break. Out of the timeout, Ivory Finley hit a step-back jumper to keep UMass Lowell within one possession before Jaliena Sanchez hit her second three of the first half. The teams would head into the locker room tied at 25. Ivory Finley led all scorers with seven first-half points while Amaya Dowdy recorded six rebounds and scored six points.
 
UAlbany opened the second half with back-to-back scores to take the lead before Finley responded with a big jumper. After the River Hawks tied the game, Mili Carrera knocked down an open three to force an early UAlbany timeout. The Great Danes responded well out of the timeout, forcing a turnover amid a 5-0 run to retake the lead. Needing a spark, the River Hawks looked to their sophomore forward to give them life. Amaya Dowdy's tough and-one play tied the game with 90 seconds to play in the third. UAlbany scored twice in the final 30 seconds to take a 43-39 lead heading into the fourth.
 
The Great Danes came out with great pressure to start the fourth and extended the lead to seven points, forcing UMass Lowell to call timeout. Kaylen Banwareesingh's three-point play brought the River Hawks within four before Finley's layup made it a one possession game. UMass Lowell used a second timeout as the hosts pushed the lead to 52-44 with 4:33 left to play. The hosts stretched the lead to 10 late and held the River Hawks off the board as the game hit the final 90 seconds. UMass Lowell battled to the end, but ultimately fell in the America East Quarterfinal game.