LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Abbey Lindsey (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a team best of 15 points, as UMass Lowell (2-12, 0-2 AE) fell, 53-39, to UAlbany (12-3, 2-0 AE) in America East Conference action at Costello Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.  

"We've held the top two teams in our conference to 53 and 54 points, respectively, so I think we're doing a pretty good job defending," said Head Coach Denise King. "We had a slow start to the third quarter, so this is something we will continue to dig at, watch film, and see what ways we can lock in and focus more." 

Lindsey also contributed with four rebounds and two assists. Redshirt-senior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) added 13 points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist. Senior Alex Gitchenko (Ashdod, Israel) led the team in rebounds with seven.  

Watkins would grab the first points of the contest for the River Hawks as she went end to end, collecting a defensive rebound and navigating her way to the basket for a layup at 9:05. UAlbany would answer back with a quick bucket to even the score at 2-2, but UMass Lowell answered with two baskets in a row to regain the early lead, 6-2, at 6:34. The Great Danes finished up the first quarter with 15 points, putting themselves ahead, 17-6.  

The River Hawks darted into the second quarter, earning 12 unanswered points, as Lindsey totaled six of those, including the jumper to take the lead, 18-17, at 3:48. UMass Lowell held UAlbany scoreless until 3:19 of the second quarter, when the Great Danes went on an eight-point scoring stretch to conclude the half and take a 26-18 edge into the break.  

The River Hawks notched the first point of the third quarter, but UAlbany followed with six points, as the visitors increased their lead to 32-19 at 8:20. Watkins responded with a three-point play off a driving layup. For the remainder of the quarter, UMass Lowell and UAlbany would go shot-for-shot, as the Great Danes stayed in the lead, going into the fourth up, 39-28. 

As each team totaled two points to start the final quarter, UAlbany then went on a five-point run to lead the River Hawks, 46-30, at 4:21. Lindsey and Watkins helped UMass Lowell to four points with 2:12 left in the game. The River Hawks continued to battle with Lindsey scoring the final two buckets of the contest, falling 53-39 at home.  

Up next, the River Hawks will begin a two-game America East road trip, first at Vermont on Thursday, January 9 with tipoff scheduled for 11 a.m.