ORONO, Maine – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (3-17, 3-5 AE) fell to the Maine Black Bears (14-8, 7-1 AE) on Thursday night in Orono. The River Hawks drop a fourth straight conference contest while Maine seventh league game of the year.
 
Freshman Abbey Lindsey (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the team with 12 points on 6-10 shooting. The first-year added four rebounds and two assists. Fellow freshman Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) scored 11 to go with five rebounds. Graduate student Mili Carrera (Lima, Peru) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and had a team-leading four assists.
 
The Black Bears opened the game shooting 4-7 from the field and built an 8-2 lead at the first media timeout. Rayne Durant hit one of two from the line before a big triple from freshman Cire Worley (Philadelphia, Penn.) brought the River Hawks within one possession.
 
After Maine built a 13-8 lead, the River Hawks went on a 6-2 run and made it a one-point game behind layups from Worley and Sydney Watkins. The Black Bears scored as time expired to lead by four after one.
 
Maine extended the lead to 10 points early in the second quarter, but then went scoreless for two minutes. The River Hawks cut the lead to eight with Rayne's second make of the night but struggled to chip away during the host's scoring drought. Maine pushed the lead back to 10 at the second media.
 
Cire Worley's layup broke a scoreless drought of over two minutes for the River Hawks, cutting the deficit. Maine's offense continued to roll in the first half, building a 14-point lead with two minutes to play in the half. A 7-1 run gave Maine a 38-21 lead at the break. Worley led the River Hawks with seven points on 3-4 shooting. As a unit, UMass Lowell shot 33% from the field in the first half.
 
Out of the break, Maine opened the third quarter with a 6-3 run to take a 21-point lead in the early stages. The River Hawks offense struggled to find open looks, putting up just two attempts in the first three minutes.
 
Redshirt senior Baylee Teal (Pittsfield, N.Y.) made her return to the floor in the third quarter as the River Hawks looked for a way back into the game. The offense found a bit of a spark with three straight makes from Leilani Rodriguez and Abbey Lindsey. Lindsey made a nice move through four defenders to lay the ball in as time expired in the third.
 
UMass Lowell brought good energy to start the second half and they carried it into the fourth quarter. Rayne Durant and Abbey Lindsey each knocked down a pair of shots as the River Hawks chipped away at the lead. The defense held Maine scoreless over two minutes while Lindsey added to her total on the offensive end. UMass Lowell had a good push in the second half, but ultimately fell in Orono.
 
Up next, the River Hawks will head to New Hampshire for an afternoon matchup with the Wildcats on Saturday, February 3.