ALBANY, N.Y. – Sophomore Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) recorded a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds, as UMass Lowell (3-20, 1-10 AE) fell, 59-44, at UAlbany (20-5, 10-2 AE) on Thursday morning in America East play at SEFCU Arena.
"Hard fought battle today by our young ladies," said Head Coach Denise King. I thought there were stretches of the game where we were really solid on both sides of the floor. Looking forward to seeing how we execute on Saturday and the energy we bring.
Durant went 6-for-9 from the field, while also contributing four blocks, two assists and one steal. Redshirt-senior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) totaled 11 points on the day, with two rebounds and one assist. Watkins had a perfect percentage from the field, going 5-for-5. As a team, UMass Lowell outshot its host from the field (40.0% to 37.0%) and behind the arc (33.3% to 17.6%).
Watkins would get the River Hawks started, as she drove through the lane to notch the first points of the game at 9:36 in the first quarter. Durant followed her lead, recording a layup at 9:07 to lead the Great Danes, 4-0. UAlbany would answer with a 7-0 stretch later in the period to pull in front, 12-7, at 4:21. A nifty, reverse layup from senior Alex Gitchenko (Ashdod, Israel) then put the River Hawks within three at 3:49, but the Great Danes finished the first quarter with a 17-11 lead.
UMass Lowell put together the largest scoring stretch of the second quarter, notching five points consecutively. Highlights from this run included sophomore Maddie Rice (Charlottesville, Va.) driving into the paint and scoring a jumper at 3:52, followed by a layup from sophomore Abbey Lindsey (Staten Island, N.Y.) at 3:13 to put UMass Lowell within six, 24-18. UAlbany grabbed the final points of the half, though, to head into the break with a 26-18 advantage.
It was a busy third quarter, as the River Hawks and Great Danes had multiple back-and-forth baskets. After UAlbany earned the first points of the quarter, Durant and Lindsey each hit a jumper to cut the difference to 28-22 at 8:15. Following a few traded baskets, UMass Lowell earned its largest run of the quarter with five straight points, including a baseline jumper from freshman Sille-Liis Mölder (Tallinn, Estonia) at 4:18. At the end of the quarter, the Great Danes led, 41-33.
UAlbany started the fourth with seven points to stretch its lead to 48-33. Late in the final minutes, junior Amina Kameric (Seattle, Wash.) sunk two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, as the Great Danes led, 54-42, with 1:02 left in regulation. The game concluded with the teams each tallying another bucket, as UAlbany came out of the contest with the 59-44 victory.
The River Hawks will travel home to Costello Athletic Center to face New Hampshire on Saturday, February 15 with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m. UMass Lowell will dedicate the contest to the Spread Respect initiative and UMass Lowell Cheer will host a clinic prior to the contest.
