SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The UMass Lowell women's basketball team (4-23, 4-11 AE) fell to the Bryant Bulldogs (15-13, 8-7 AE) 60-51 on Thursday night at the Chace Athletic Center.
 
Freshman Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) led the team with 13 points to go with six rebounds. Senior Leilani Rodriguez (Worcester, Mass.) added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Redshirt junior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, IN) led the way with eight rebounds and added four points and two assists. The River Hawks tallied 15 assists as a unit and shot 34% from the field.
 
The River Hawks scored on the first two possessions of the game to take an early 4-0 lead. Bryant answered with a three before both teams went scoreless for two minutes. The game grew more physical, and it was a battle on the glass. UMass Lowell led 9-5 at the media behind makes from Maddie Rice and Leilani Rodriguez. The Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run to lead by two after one.
 
UMass Lowell went scoreless for nearly two minutes to start the second before Abbey Lindsey's mid-range jumper cut the deficit to two. The offense struggled to hit shots, forcing the River Hawks into a timeout with 6:46 to play in the half.
 
Bryant pushed the lead to nine at the midway point of the second quarter. Mili Carrera's three broke a scoreless drought but an immediate answer kept the hosts ahead by nine. The Bulldogs would take the nine-point edge into the halftime break.
 
Abbey Lindsey and Rayne Durant knocked down shots early in the quarter to cut the lead to seven before a driving finish from Leilani Rodriguez cut the deficit to five. Back-and-forth action saw the quarter reach the media timeout with Bryant leading by nine once again.
Maddie Rice's layup beat the buzzer, but the hosts lead by 12 after three.
 
The River Hawks struggled from the floor in the fourth as Bryant extended the lead to 16 with 6:30 to play in the game. Mili Carrera's second triple of the night was a much-needed basket, breaking up a scoring run for the hosts. UMass Lowell made a late push with Rayne Durant hitting a mid-range jumper and Rodriguez completing a four-point play to cut the lead to 11 points.
 
Maddie Rice's layup brought UMass Lowell within nine, but a three on the other end put the hosts back in front by double digits. Rodriguez hit another three with 29.8 seconds to play to cut the lead down to eight points as Bryant called timeout. The Bulldogs held off the late surge and hit free throws to ice the game.
 
Next up, the River Hawks close the regular season at home against Vermont on Saturday, March 2 at the Tsongas Center.