LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (4-19, 4-7 AE) fell to the NJIT Highlanders (9-14, 1-9 AE) 68-56 on Saturday afternoon. The River Hawks split the season series with the Highlanders.
 
Freshmen Gabby Ross (Lakehurst, N.J.) and Abbey Lindsey (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the team with nine points each. Lindsey also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go with one block and one assist. Redshirt junior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, IN) added eight points, six rebounds and two assists.

"Disappointed with our effort and execution today. I think we let our lack of detail and focus dictate everything else," said head coach Denise King. "Proud of what some of the young kids did to come in and get some energy going for us late in the game. We made better decisions late and were more aggressive and that's when we saw more success." 
 
The River Hawks and Highlanders went scoreless on their first two offensive possessions, with freshman Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) picking up her first block of the afternoon. Sydney Watkins hit a pair of free throws to open the scoring and put the hosts in front.
 
NJIT got on the board three minutes in to tie the game and took the lead on their next possession. UMass Lowell went 0-7 from the field and trailed 6-2 at the first media.
 
Out of the break, the River Hawks continued to struggle from the field. Two free throws from Watkins and a jumper from junior Alex Gitchenko (Ashdod, Israel) made it a 10-6 game, but NJIT answered and pushed the lead to 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Sydney Watkins' jumper opened the scoring in the second frame and after a few stops on the defensive end, graduate student Mili Carrera's (Lima, Peru) three made it a one possession game. Senior Sydney Coombs' (Newmarket, N.H.) layup pushed UMass Lowell's run to 7-0 and forced NJIT into a timeout.  
 
The River Hawks kept NJIT off the board for over seven minutes, but also went scoreless for over two minutes as the Highlanders held a one-point edge. A string of free throws pushed the visitor's lead to five with just over three to play in the half. Mili Carrera's late free throws brought the River Hawks within three at the half.
 
Rayne Durant scored her first two baskets of the afternoon in the opening two minutes of the third quarter, but the Highlanders answered and maintained a three-point lead. Abbey Lindsey's jumper from the corner gave the River Hawks their first lead since the first quarter. The teams exchanged baskets just before the media with the River Hawks in front by one at the break. NJIT went on a 14-2 run to lead by 11 heading into the fourth.
 
 The Highlanders continued to roll, scoring seven points in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 16 at the final media. Abbey Lindsey and Gabby Ross knocked down shots to cut the lead to 14 just under the midway point of the fourth.
 
UMass Lowell would not go down quietly, as Abbey Lindsey's three-point play cut the deficit to 10 with 3:40 to play. Gabby Ross knocked down a big three as the River Hawks scored six points in 54 seconds to trail by seven with just under three minutes remaining.
 
Despite the fourth quarter push, the River Hawks fell 68-56. Next up, UMass Lowell will have a week off before hosting Bryant on Saturday, February 17 at the Costello Athletic Center.