ORONO, Maine – The #8 UMass Lowell women's basketball team (4-25, 4-12 AE) battled hard, but ultimately fell to the #1 Maine Black Bears (22-9, 14-2 AE) 49-43 in the America East Quarterfinal game Orono.
Senior
Leilani Rodriguez (Worcester, Mass.) led the team with 12 points, shooting 5-11, and added a team-high four assists to go with three rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Redshirt junior
Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, IN) scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and four assists. Graduate student
Mili Carrera (Lima, Peru) added eight points, shooting 2-4 from three, two assists, two blocks and two assists.
The River Hawks opened the game strong, coming up with two stops and grabbing defensive rebounds early.
Mili Carrera knocked down a three to get the scoring started before
Maddie Rice's layup made it 5-0 UMass Lowell to open the contest. Maine answered and took a 7-6 lead before
Leilani Rodriguez hit a three to give UMass Lowell a 9-7 lead the first media.
Sydney Watkins made a tough layup right out of the break, but the Black Bears responded with four straight points to tie the game. The defense stood strong to get a stop with the teams tied 11-11 after one. UMass Lowell shot 40% from the field while Maine shot 25% in the first quarter.
Maine took a one-point lead early in the second but relentless defense from the River Hawks kept the hosts from extending the lead. UMass Lowell struggled to score and trailed by one at the second media timeout.
Abbey Lindsey and
Leilani Rodriguez made tough shots late in the half to give the River Hawks a 19-16 lead with just over two minutes to play. A late three from the hosts sent the game tied at 19 into the halftime break.
After starting slow in the first 90 seconds of the half, both sides found an offensive rhythm.
Rayne Durant went to work down low with two big layups. Maine answered with two threes to tie the game at 25. Watkins' tough finish put the River Hawks back in front at the midway mark of the third. UMass Lowell went scoreless over two minutes while the Black Bears took a three-point lead after three quarters.
Rodriguez knocked down a three on the first possession of the fourth to tie the game, but it was met with an immediate answer from the hosts.
Sydney Watkins was a force on defense all night, locking down key players for Maine.
Abbey Lindsey's layup quieted a rowdy crowd and broke a scoring drought for the River Hawks. The Black Bears held a slim 36-34 edge at the final media timeout.
Rayne Durant's jumper cut Maine's lead down to two points as the game approached the final two minutes. The Black Bears led by seven with 1:03 to play, forcing UMass Lowell to call timeout.
Leilani Rodriguez's quick layup cut the lead to five, but free throws pushed it back to seven late. Carrera's three with 21 seconds made it a four-point game as Maine called timeout.
The Black Bears hit free throws down the stretch and held on to win 49-43, ending UMass Lowell's season.
