USA
River Hawks Head to Connecticut for Clash with the No. 3 Huskies
December 12 at Connecticut (1 p.m.)
Watch (SNY) | Radio (97-9 ESPN) | Live Stats | Game Notes
Twitter: @RiverHawkWBB | @RiverHawkNation
STORRS, Conn. – The UMass Lowell women’s basketball team heads back on the road for a non-conference tilt, matching up with the No. 3 UConn women’s basketball team for the first time in program history.
WAYS TO WATCH
UConn’s SNY games will be available to stream in-market (CT, NY, NJ, PA) to authenticated subscribers via the NBC Sports app: http://stream.nbcsports.com/rsn/sny.
Out-of-market fans will be able to stream UConn’s SNY games at no additional cost to authenticated subscribers who have FOX as part of their television package. Users will need to sign in with their TV provider credentials at https://www.foxsports.com/ or in the FOX Sports app.
SCOUTING CONNECTICUT
The Huskies, who were ranked third in the AP Preseason Poll, will be opening their season this Saturday. The squad welcomes back two starters and two letterwinners from last year, including guard Christyn Williams who was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year. Williams, a junior, started in 31 of the Huskies 32 games last season, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Junior Olivia Nelson-Ododa returns for UConn after averaging 10.9 points and a team-high 8.5 boards. The 2020-21 season also boasts a talented freshmen class, featuring guard Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 ranked recruit in the 2024 class. Bueckers, a three-time Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year comes to Storrs after tallying 21.0 points, 9.2 assists, 5.2 steals and 5.1 rebounds during her time at Hopkins High School. Overall, the Huskies look to build on last season’s solid 29-3 record.
A WIN WOULD
A win against UConn would mark the team’s first victory of the 2020-21 season and end the Huskies streak of 24 straight season-opening victories.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite a strong first-quarter start, UMass Lowell faced a season-opening, 88-38 loss at Boston College on December 6. Junior Kharis Idom logged a team-high 11 points, going 5-for-9 in the paint. Senior Tiahna Sears who made her first-career start paced the team on the glass with 10 rebounds, adding eight points, as well. Sophomore Denise Solis also tallied two free throws and one jumper to finish the day with four points. The Eagles secured 37 points off of turnovers to pull away with the win.
LEADING THE FLOCK
After just one game in 2020-21, Kharis Idom is first on the squad with 11.0 points per game and 4.0 assists per game. Tiahna Sears is contributing 8.0 points per game and paces the River Hawks with 10.0 rebounds. Sophomore Kaylen Banwareesingh tallies a 40% shooting percentage on field goals. As a whole, UMass Lowell is shooting 30 percent (15-50) from the floor, 15 percent (3-19) from beyond the arc and 55 percent (5-9) from the foul line.
RIVER HAWKS GET RECOGNITION
The UMass Lowell women’s basketball team was picked third in the 2020-21 America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The River Hawks received 62 points to earn their highest placement in the poll since joining the conference in 2013-14. Additionally, junior guard Kharis Idom was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
NEW TO THE NEST
Garrick’s third recruiting class brings four newcomers to the River Hawks in 2020-21. The group includes two freshmen guards (Leilani Rodriguez and Jaini Edmonds) and two forwards (Erin Lofaro and Sydney Coombs). With one game under their belt the four newbies have totaled 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
WELCOME BACK
The River Hawks are returning four of their five starters from 2019-20. Additionally, with seven experienced veterans back, the team returns 69 percent of its scoring.
IDOM ON THE PRIZE
Kharis Idom tallied her 200th field goal during the season-opener against Boston College to record double-digits in 21 straight games. She has now surpassed the Division I record set by Kayla Gibbs (’18) who saw 19 consecutive games in double-digit territory from Nov. 20, 2016 to Feb. 1, 2017.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Denise Solis saw plenty of action during her first year in a River Hawk uniform. The 6’1 forward was the only River Hawk to start in all 31 games for an average of 26.8 minutes per game.
WATCH THOSE HANDS
The squad ranked second in the America East in 2019-20 with a new DI program-best 8.3 steals per game last year. Jaliena Sanchez ranked individually in the top ten with 1.9 steals for second place.
ALL IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Worcester, Mass. natives, Leilani Rodriguez and Jaini Edmonds, are the first pair of River Hawks recruited from the same town since the 2010-11 season. The duo come to Lowell after growing up less than eight minutes apart, having no idea who the other was.
FIRST HALF SUCCESS = WINS
During the 2019-20 season UMass Lowell found its way into the win column more times than not when having a strong first half effort. The River Hawks went 10-1 when leading at the break.
A DIME A DOZEN
Matching her career-high of seven assists in the win over Hartford last season, Jaliena Sanchez averaged a team-best 3.1 assists per game to rank ninth in the America East. As a unit the River Hawks secured a season-best with 18 dimes on 22 made field goals in the battle against Hartford (1.8).
BOARDS GALORE
In the semifinal appearance against Maine, Lowell registered a season-high 57 rebounds despite the loss. A feat not having been accomplished in three seasons since the River Hawks grabbed 61 boards against Fisher College (11.27).
HOME-SWEET-HOME
Freshman Sydney Coombs is the first home-schooled women’s basketball player recruited by Lowell at the Division I level. Coming from Newmarket, N.H., Coombs was with the NH Spartans AAU program for several years.
Watch (SNY) | Radio (97-9 ESPN) | Live Stats | Game Notes
Twitter: @RiverHawkWBB | @RiverHawkNation
STORRS, Conn. – The UMass Lowell women’s basketball team heads back on the road for a non-conference tilt, matching up with the No. 3 UConn women’s basketball team for the first time in program history.
WAYS TO WATCH
UConn’s SNY games will be available to stream in-market (CT, NY, NJ, PA) to authenticated subscribers via the NBC Sports app: http://stream.nbcsports.com/rsn/sny.
Out-of-market fans will be able to stream UConn’s SNY games at no additional cost to authenticated subscribers who have FOX as part of their television package. Users will need to sign in with their TV provider credentials at https://www.foxsports.com/ or in the FOX Sports app.
SCOUTING CONNECTICUT
The Huskies, who were ranked third in the AP Preseason Poll, will be opening their season this Saturday. The squad welcomes back two starters and two letterwinners from last year, including guard Christyn Williams who was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year. Williams, a junior, started in 31 of the Huskies 32 games last season, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Junior Olivia Nelson-Ododa returns for UConn after averaging 10.9 points and a team-high 8.5 boards. The 2020-21 season also boasts a talented freshmen class, featuring guard Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 ranked recruit in the 2024 class. Bueckers, a three-time Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year comes to Storrs after tallying 21.0 points, 9.2 assists, 5.2 steals and 5.1 rebounds during her time at Hopkins High School. Overall, the Huskies look to build on last season’s solid 29-3 record.
A WIN WOULD
A win against UConn would mark the team’s first victory of the 2020-21 season and end the Huskies streak of 24 straight season-opening victories.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite a strong first-quarter start, UMass Lowell faced a season-opening, 88-38 loss at Boston College on December 6. Junior Kharis Idom logged a team-high 11 points, going 5-for-9 in the paint. Senior Tiahna Sears who made her first-career start paced the team on the glass with 10 rebounds, adding eight points, as well. Sophomore Denise Solis also tallied two free throws and one jumper to finish the day with four points. The Eagles secured 37 points off of turnovers to pull away with the win.
LEADING THE FLOCK
After just one game in 2020-21, Kharis Idom is first on the squad with 11.0 points per game and 4.0 assists per game. Tiahna Sears is contributing 8.0 points per game and paces the River Hawks with 10.0 rebounds. Sophomore Kaylen Banwareesingh tallies a 40% shooting percentage on field goals. As a whole, UMass Lowell is shooting 30 percent (15-50) from the floor, 15 percent (3-19) from beyond the arc and 55 percent (5-9) from the foul line.
RIVER HAWKS GET RECOGNITION
The UMass Lowell women’s basketball team was picked third in the 2020-21 America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The River Hawks received 62 points to earn their highest placement in the poll since joining the conference in 2013-14. Additionally, junior guard Kharis Idom was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
NEW TO THE NEST
Garrick’s third recruiting class brings four newcomers to the River Hawks in 2020-21. The group includes two freshmen guards (Leilani Rodriguez and Jaini Edmonds) and two forwards (Erin Lofaro and Sydney Coombs). With one game under their belt the four newbies have totaled 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
WELCOME BACK
The River Hawks are returning four of their five starters from 2019-20. Additionally, with seven experienced veterans back, the team returns 69 percent of its scoring.
IDOM ON THE PRIZE
Kharis Idom tallied her 200th field goal during the season-opener against Boston College to record double-digits in 21 straight games. She has now surpassed the Division I record set by Kayla Gibbs (’18) who saw 19 consecutive games in double-digit territory from Nov. 20, 2016 to Feb. 1, 2017.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Denise Solis saw plenty of action during her first year in a River Hawk uniform. The 6’1 forward was the only River Hawk to start in all 31 games for an average of 26.8 minutes per game.
WATCH THOSE HANDS
The squad ranked second in the America East in 2019-20 with a new DI program-best 8.3 steals per game last year. Jaliena Sanchez ranked individually in the top ten with 1.9 steals for second place.
ALL IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Worcester, Mass. natives, Leilani Rodriguez and Jaini Edmonds, are the first pair of River Hawks recruited from the same town since the 2010-11 season. The duo come to Lowell after growing up less than eight minutes apart, having no idea who the other was.
FIRST HALF SUCCESS = WINS
During the 2019-20 season UMass Lowell found its way into the win column more times than not when having a strong first half effort. The River Hawks went 10-1 when leading at the break.
A DIME A DOZEN
Matching her career-high of seven assists in the win over Hartford last season, Jaliena Sanchez averaged a team-best 3.1 assists per game to rank ninth in the America East. As a unit the River Hawks secured a season-best with 18 dimes on 22 made field goals in the battle against Hartford (1.8).
BOARDS GALORE
In the semifinal appearance against Maine, Lowell registered a season-high 57 rebounds despite the loss. A feat not having been accomplished in three seasons since the River Hawks grabbed 61 boards against Fisher College (11.27).
HOME-SWEET-HOME
Freshman Sydney Coombs is the first home-schooled women’s basketball player recruited by Lowell at the Division I level. Coming from Newmarket, N.H., Coombs was with the NH Spartans AAU program for several years.
