LOWELL, Mass. – A dominant performance from the UMass Lowell women's basketball team (1-13, 1-1 AE) led to its first win of the season with a 70-53 victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats (6-9, 0-2 AE) on Saturday afternoon at the Costello Athletic Center.
 
Graduate student Mili Carrera (Lima, Peru) led the team with 18 points, shooting 5-9 from behind the arc, and added a team-high seven assists with five rebounds and three steals. Freshman Maddie Rice (Charlottesville, Va.) added 14 points shooting 7-9 while redshirt-junior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, In.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and seven assists along with a team-high four steals. Freshman Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) scored 12 points and had three rebounds.
 
Rayne Durant's putback opened the scoring after a hectic opening two minutes that saw five turnovers between the two teams. After a steal from Sydney Watkins, Mili Carrera knocked down a triple to put the hosts head 5-0 early. Durant went to work down low and scored four quick points to force New Hampshire into a timeout with 6:25 remaining in the first with the River Hawks in front 9-2.
 
Mili Carrera's sweet feed to Cire Worley down low extended the lead to nine out of the break. Durant made her fourth shot of the quarter on the next offensive possession followed by a huge three from Cire Worley as the River Hawks took control in the first. UMass Lowell had active hands on the defense end and crashed on the offensive glass to extend their possessions, keeping New Hampshire off the board. Abbey Lindsey's layup gave the hosts a 16-point lead after one.
 
Carrera kept the momentum going with a triple on the River Hawks' first possession of the second quarter. UMass Lowell's defense came up with three consecutive stops and Carrera stayed hot from distance, knocking down her third triple of the afternoon. New Hampshire broke a long scoreless drought, but Maddie Rice provided an immediate answer on the other end to put the River Hawks in front 31-8 at the media timeout.
 
The River Hawks held New Hampshire to 23% from the field while exploding for 37 points on 50% shooting. UMass Lowell held a 22-11 edge in rebounds and went into the halftime break with a 23-point lead.  
 
Sydney Watkins and Rayne Durant connected for a beautiful pass and layup on the River Hawks' first possession of the second half. New Hampshire followed with a 11-0 run to cut the lead to 14 points. Maddie Rice's jumper broke ended the run and gave the River Hawks a big basket.
 
Mili Carrera's jumper ended a 7-0 run for New Hampshire with two and half to go before Maddie Rice's jumper put the River Hawks back in front by fifteen. The Wildcats battled to cut the lead to nine at the end of the third quarter.
 
UMass Lowell got a big boost with a stop followed by a triple from Carrera to open the final frame. Sydney Watkins' third steal of the afternoon led to Abbey Lindsey's tough layup to give the River Hawks a double-digit lead once again. An 11-0 run for the River Hawks gave the hosts a 23-point lead at the final media timeout.
 
The River Hawks held off a late surge and earned their first conference win and first win of the season with a 70-53 victory over New Hampshire.