LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (3-13, 3-1 AE) has returned from a two-game road trip and will host the UAlbany Great Danes (14-2, 3-0 AE) on Thursday morning at the Tsongas Center before welcoming the Binghamton Bearcats (5-11, 0-3 AE) to Costello on Saturday afternoon.
 
January 18 vs. UAlbany (ESPN+ -- 11:00 a.m.)
 
Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
January 20 vs. Binghamton (ESPN+ -- 2:00 p.m.)
 
Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks enter Thursday's contest on a three-game win streak. UMass Lowell has taken down New Hampshire, NJIT and UMBC to hold a 3-1 record in conference play. Sydney Watkins dished out 10 assists against the Highlanders, the first River Hawk to accomplish the feat since 2018. Four players scored in double figures in the road win over NJIT. The streak continued with a 59-46 win over UMBC on Saturday behind Rayne Durant's first career double-double, scoring a career-high 16 and grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds. The River Hawks have gotten big contributions off the bench from Cire Worley and Abbey Lindsey who have been providing plenty of scoring and strong defensive work.
 
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
UAlbany comes to Lowell as the league's top team with a 14-2 overall record and a 3-0 mark in conference play. The Great Danes had comfortable wins over Bryant and NJIT and narrowly beat Binghamton last time out as they extended the win streak to 10 games. The only two losses this season came at Fordham (66-63) and #4 Stanford (79-34) in November. UAlbany leads the league in nearly every category including scoring, FG percentage, 3FG percentage and scoring defense. Kayla Cooper leads the team averaging 15.7 points with 7.3 rebounds per game and 27 steals. Meghan Huerter is shooting 50% from behind the arc, going 39-77 in 16 games.
 
 
 
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Binghamton is 5-11 on the season and 0-3 to start conference play. The Bearcats entered league action on a three-game win streak but have since fallen in the last three contests against UMBC, Bryant and UAlbany. Four players are averaging double figures with Ella Wanzer leading the team at 12.1 points per game. Jadyn Weltz is averaging a team-high 5.0 rebounds per game to go with 10.3 points. Weltz also leads the team with 76 assists on the year. Denai Bowman, a preseason all-conference selection, has played in 11 games this year, averaging 10.5 points and 3.3 rebounds. Binghamton is second in the league in 3-point FG percentage and tops the league in 3FGs made. The Bearcats also lead the conference in assist/turnover ratio and assists.
 
HEATING UP
After starting the season 0-13, the River Hawks have found a rhythm and put together a three-game conference win streak. In the last three games, the squad has improved to 43% from the field, compared to 36% in the first 13 games, as well as a jump from 27% to 46% from behind the arc. UMass Lowell has been sharing the ball more, with 6.3 assists per game over the last three games. Turnovers are down and opponent turnovers are up, and the offense has scored 66.3 points per game while allowing 55.3, compared to scoring 48.9 and allowing 65.8 in the previous 13 games.
 
INTO THE RECORD BOOK
Sydney Watkins has led the squad in assists all season, dishing out 55 on the year to sit fourth in the league. The redshirt-junior tallied 10 assists against NJIT on Thursday, January 11 to become the first River Hawk to do so in six years. Watkins is now tied for first in Division I program history and tied for sixth in program history for her performance against NJIT.
 
ROOKIE SPOTLIGHT
Rayne Durant was named the America East Rookie of the Week last week after two big performances against NJIT and UMBC. The New Haven native has scored double figures in her last three games and totaled 23 rebounds. She recorded her first career double-double in the 59-46 win over UMBC, with a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would be a fourth straight victory for the River Hawks. A win would also be a first win over UAlbany since 2021.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Mili Carrera leads the squad averaging 10.4 points per game while Sydney Watkins leads the rebounding unit with 6.1 per game. Rayne Durant is the team's leading blocker with 15 on the season. Mili Carrera and Leilani Rodriguez are shooting 36% and 39% from three, respectively, and Cire Worley leads the team with 15 of 18 made free throws. Watkins leads the team with 51 steals and 55 assists through 16 games, leading the league in steals and sitting fourth in assists.