LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (3-14, 3-2 AE) fell to the UAlbany Great Danes (15-2, 4-0 AE) on Thursday afternoon at the Tsongas Center, snapping UMass Lowell's three-game win streak.
 
Redshirt-junior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, In.) scored a career-high 16 points, shooting 5-9 from the field. Watkins led the squad with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. Freshman Abbey Lindsey (Staten Island, N.Y.) added 13 points and shot 3-7 from behind the arc. Freshman Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) tallied eight points and four rebounds.
 
Durant's mid-range jumper got the River Hawks on the board first. The defense looked sharp early, coming up with stops on the first three defensive possessions. The Great Danes had two threes in the first five minutes, but tough plays in the paint for UMass Lowell had the game tied at 6-6 at the first media. Out of the break, UAlbany went on an 11-2 run to close the frame and lead after one.
 
The River Hawks went scoreless for over two and a half minutes as the visitors established a 10-point lead. Rayne Durant's third make of the afternoon broke the scoring drought just before the second media timeout with UAlbany in front by ten.
 
Sydney Watkins' layup and a pair of free throws brought UMass Lowell within eight points with three to play in the half, but the Great Danes extended the lead to 13 at the half. UMass Lowell shot 28% from the field and went 0-6 from three while UAlbany shot 38% and 40% from behind the arc.
 
The Great Danes extended their lead to 16 two minutes into the third quarter, forcing the River Hawks to call timeout. Lindsey knocked down a three out of the break to spark life in the hosts. Maddie Rice hit a mid-range jumper to cut the lead to 11 and UAlbany burned a timeout.
 
Abbey Lindsey hit her second triple of the afternoon to cut the deficit to nine with three and a half minutes to play in the third. UAlbany responded with back-to-back threes to push the lead back to fifteen. The River Hawks four of five shots late in the quarter to make it a nine-point game after three.
 
Lindsey and Sydney Watkins combined to make seven of their last nine shots to keep the River Hawks in the game. A three-point play from Watkins brought UMass Lowell within eight early in the fourth. A 6-0 run for UAlbany pushed the lead back to double digits at the final media timeout. Despite the late push, the visitors held on and took the victory.
 
UMass Lowell returns to action Saturday afternoon at the Costello Athletic Center to take on Binghamton at 2:00 p.m.