Syracuse, N.Y. – The University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks recorded a 69-56 wire-to-wire victory over the Le Moyne College women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court.

After shooting 11-for-20 from the field in the second quarter, UMass Lowell held a 20-point lead at halftime. The Dolphins were able to trim their deficit to 13 at the beginning of the fourth, but could not get any closer as the River Hawks used 37 bench points and 60% shooting from two-point range to claim the non-conference victory.

UML senior forward Alex Gitchenko shot 9-for-13 from the field to finish with a game-high 19 points in addition to seven rebounds and four steals. Sophomore forward Rayne Durant and sophomore guard Abbey Lindsey added 18 and 16 points, respectively, for the River Hawks, while senior guard Amina Kameric dished out seven assists in 24 minutes off the bench. The River Hawks came up with 22 steals during the victory, with the help of seven steals from redshirt-senior guard Sydney Watkins.

Freshman guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township) led the Dolphins in scoring with 13 points, marking the third double-digit scoring outing of her rookie campaign. Sophomore guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, Ontario/Capital Courts Academy/Buffalo) tallied a career-high 10 points during the setback on 3-for-3 shooting from the field, 1-for-1 from three-point range and 3-for-3 from the line.

Senior guard Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) recorded three steals, six points, two rebounds and two assists for the Dolphins, senior forward Brianna Williams (Brampton, Ontario/Southwest Academy/Hartford) registered nine points, seven rebounds and a block, while graduate forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) recorded nine points, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal in a team-high 30 minutes played.

Le Moyne recorded season-highs in free-throws attempted (25), free-throws made (21), steals (9) and turnovers forced (18) against the River Hawks.

Le Moyne shot just 2-for-14 in the opening period as UMass Lowell established a 13-5 lead after 10 minutes of action. Gitchenko had six first-quarter points to pace the River Hawks.

UML then scored the first six points of the second quarter to build an 18-5 advantage with 8:14 remaining in the first half.

Roberts got the to the line and sank two free throws to end the quick UML run, but Gitchenko scored back-to-back baskets to make it a 15-point game.

Following a three from Lindsey at the 4:37 mark of the second, Le Moyne sophomore forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) grabbed her own offensive rebound and finished a reverse layup to make it 25-10 in favor of the visitors.

A layup from Durant with 46 seconds left in the second quarter gave the River Hawks their largest lead of the game, 36-16, which they took into halftime.

Williams scored Le Moyne's first five points of the third quarter around a jumper from Durant to make it 38-21 in favor of UML at the 8:37 mark. With 4:09 left in the third, Roberts caught a pass from Florvil on the right block and finished a contested layup to trim Le Moyne's deficit to 15.

An old-fashioned three-point play from Durant with 2:24 left in the third made it 48-32.

Just before the end of the period, Clark drove to the hoop, drew a shooting foul and made both free throws to cut Le Moyne's deficit to 16 points heading into the fourth.

In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Wangolo grabbed an offensive rebound, finished the putback, drew a foul and converted the additional free throw to make it a 13-point game.
Durant responded with back-to-back jumpers for UML to extend the lead back out to 17.

Le Moyne then scored the next four points with two free throws from Megan Bodziony (Wakefield, R.I./St. Andrew's School/Fordham/Bryant) and a driving layup from Clark.

Following a fastbreak layup from UMass Lowell at the 6:00 mark, Le Moyne cut the deficit to 15 once again following a steal and fastbreak layup from Florvil.

Maddie Rice knocked down a three-pointer for UMass Lowell with 4:25 left in the fourth, then Clark answered with a three of her own during the next possession. Lindsey and Watkins scored back-to-back baskets at the 3:39 and 3:11 marks to make it 65-46 in favor of the River Hawks.

Lindsey's jump shot with 1:34 left in the game made it a 20-point game, then the Dolphins ended the contest on a 7-0 run with free throws from Wangolo and Florvil, and a three-pointer from Roberts.

Postgame Interview with Le Moyne head coach Nick DiPillo:


Le Moyne (0-9) will return to action on December 14 with a 1:00 p.m. contest at Seton Hall.