BALTIMORE, MD. – Freshman Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (3-13, 3-1 AE) to a third consecutive win over the UMBC Retrievers (6-10, 2-2 AE) on Saturday afternoon.
 
Durant added a team-high three steals and two blocks on the afternoon. Redshirt-junior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, IN) tallied 10 points to go with five rebounds and one steal. Freshman Abbey Lindsey (Staten Island, N.Y.) and graduate student Mili Carrera (Lima, Peru) each added eight points while freshman Maddie Rice (Charlottesville, Va.) and senior Sydney Coombs (Newmarket, N.H.) led the team with three assists each.
 
After misses on the opening possessions, both sides hit threes to get on the board. UMass Lowell went on an 8-0 run and held UMBC scoreless for over two and half minutes, forcing the hosts into an early timeout.
 
Out of the break, the Retrievers went on a 4-0 run before Abbey Lindsey's jumper gave the River Hawks a three-point lead. Sydney Coombs' layup broke a scoreless drought of over two minutes for UMass Lowell, but the hosts answered with a bucket on the next possession. Cire Worley's triple and Sydney Watkins' layup gave the River Hawks a 17-11 lead after one.
 
The River Hawks opened the second shooting 3-3 to extend the lead to 11 points before the Retrievers made their first shot of the quarter. UMBC cut the lead down to seven and UMass Lowell burned a timeout with five and a half to play in the half.
 
Leilani Rodriguez broke a three-minute scoreless drought as UMass Lowell reestablished a double-digit lead. The River Hawks came to life late and a 6-0 run over two minutes stretched the lead to 15 points. Maddie Rice's effort on the defensive end led to a steal and Rayne Durant's sweet layup put the visitors in control. UMBC answered with a 5-0 run, but Durant's layup and block had UMass Lowell in front 38-26 at the half.
 
After a sluggish start the second half, Mili Carrera's three gave the River Hawks a much-needed bucket. Sydney Watkins' tough layup restored the double-digit lead four minutes into the third and UMass Lowell by 12 at the media break.
 
UMBC cut the lead down to 12 points early in the fourth as the River Hawks struggled from the floor. Rayne Durant got the visitors on the board and broke a scoring drought of nearly five minutes before adding knocking down another layup to push the lead back to 16 points. The Retrievers would not go away, making it a 12-point game with 4:41 to play.
 
UMass Lowell struggled from the floor late in the game, but Sydney Watkins made a big play driving to the basket and finished a layup to give the River Hawks some breathing room. Despite only scoring six points in the final frame, UMass Lowell came away with its third straight victory in conference play.
 
Next up, the River Hawks return home to host UAlbany on Thursday, January 18 at the Costello Athletic Center.