River Hawks Ready for 2024-25 Campaign

10/29/2024 3:06:00 PM

The UMass Lowell women’s basketball team is set to begin its 2024-25 season this coming week. Head Coach Denise King will enter her fourth year with the program.

Expectations for us are to come out and compete every single day. We want to be that team where people are nervous to play us.

Head Coach Denise King

In the 2023-24 season, the River Hawks defeated New Hampshire, NJIT, and UMBC twice, resulting in a 4-25 overall record, going 4-12 in the America East conference.

We are continuing to build and continuing to enjoy the journey and trust the process. So, for me, the next step is to continue to build on the foundational steps that we already have laid.

King

UMass Lowell returns 2023-24 America East All-Defensive Team member, redshirt senior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, Ind.), 2023-24 America East All-Rookie Team selection sophomore Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.), and River Hawks' 2023-24 point leader, sophomore Abbey Lindsey (Staten Island, N.Y.).

Also returning for UMass Lowell are seniors Tasha Lima (Roslindale) and Alex Gitchenko (Ashdod, Israel), juniors Sophie Baydanov (Vienna, Austria) and Ella Ner (Bene Atarot, Israel), and sophomore Maddie Rice (Charlottesville, Va.).

We definitely have a bunch of characters. This is a group that really enjoys playing basketball and really enjoys competing. For me to be able to come into practice every day, I thank them because I enjoy coming in here, I enjoy seeing the progression day to day, and even seeing the setbacks since it shows that we are human and still continuing to grow. They’re energetic, they like to have a good time, they love to compete, and I think most importantly for me, they enjoy playing with one another.

King

The River Hawks welcome five freshmen to the roster (from left to right), Nia Chima (Toronto, Ontario), Sille-Liis Mölder (Tallinn, Estonia), Carla Subirats (Barcelona, Spain), Jennah Johnson (Woodbridge, N.J.), and Emina Kameric (Seattle, Wash.).

We brought the freshmen in to help us compete and to win games. The five freshmen that we brought in we are not looking for them to sit the bench and develop that way. We have a team this year that we are going to need one through fourteen. This isn’t different from any other year, but we are expecting a lot of big things from our freshman group and would love for them to contribute in any way that they can. Their energy is good and they have been putting their best foot forward and they have bought into the things that we talk about daily.

UMass Lowell picked up a senior transfer, Amina Kameric (Seattle, Wash.), sister of Emina. A. Kameric will be a helpful tool to the River Hawks, able to weigh in with her leadership and talent.

The River Hawks are set to play 28 games this season, with 12 non-conference contests. The month of November consists of seven road games for UMass Lowell, including Big Ten foe, Minnesota and Big East opponent, Butler.

"The schedule is competitive. Obviously, when you schedule non-conference competition, you want to make sure that you are preparing your team for conference. We’re excited, it’s a chance for us to grow, be challenged, and a chance to show who we really are as a program.”

UMass Lowell will participate in the Puerto Rico Clasico November 29-30, facing UNC Wilmington and San Jose State.

“The Puerto Rico Clasico will be a great place for us to compete, team build, and open the girls up to an experience that they never had before. We’re looking forward to getting out there, embracing everything that Puerto Rico has to offer, and then leaving a little bit of UMass Lowell there as well.”

With nine programs, including the River Hawks in the America East, UMass Lowell will have 16 conference contests, playing each team twice, starting on Thursday, January 2.

“The level of play in the league is extremely competitive. We have a bunch of new coaches that have come into the league that are going to bring their own style of coaching, and their own type of energy. Our league has been elevating every year since I’ve been here and I think this year’s going to be no different. It’s all about matchups, it’s all about adjustments, it’s all about who is mentally and physically able to compete day in and day out.”