BOX SCORE

LOWELL, Mass. - Bianca Simmons totaled 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead UMass Lowell to a 59-56 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire University at the Costello Athletic Center Tuesday night.  The River Hawks won their third in a row to improve to 3-1 and 1-1 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are 3-3 and 1-1 in the league.

Jen Valente was the other River Hawk in double figures, as she totaled 10 points, while Krissy Little added eight points.  SNHU's Jenny McDade (Derry, N.H.) led all scorers with 20 points and 10 rebounds, going 7-11 from the floor, while Christine Duffy (South Boston, Mass.) canned a pair of three-pointers and added 10 points.  Ashara Carrington (Marblehead, Mass.) added eight points and five boards off the bench, while Andrea Lozeau (Pelham, N.H.) finished with seven points and four assists.

Southern New Hampshire trailed 30-23 at halftime and by nine early in the second half.  The guests trailed 55-49 with just under three minutes left following a three by Meghan Kirwan of UML, but the Penmen whittled the lead down to one, 57-56, with a 7-2 spurt capped by a putback by Carrington with just under a minute to play.

On the next River Hawk possession, Bianca Simmons launched a three that was off the mark, with SNHU's Megan Spanarkel (Tinton Falls, N.J.) grabbing the rebound and getting fouled with 23 seconds left.  She would miss the front end of the one-and-one and the hosts would grab the rebound. 

Having committed only three team fouls, the Penmen were forced to foul four times before sending Brianna Calver to the line with 15.7 seconds left.  She sank a pair at the charity stripe to put UML up 59-56.  The Penmen would get one final look, but a three from the left corner by Libby Cullerot (Henniker, N.H.) was off the mark.

After trailing by nine early in the half, SNHU tied the game 37-37 with 14:21 left following back-to-back three pointers by Lozeau and McDade.  Simmons would retake the lead for the River Hawks with a three on their next trip down the floor, and UML would build a 52-44 lead with 6:08 to play on a putback by Sha'Nay Bushner.

The first half saw six ties and seven lead changes.  The Penmen took a 13-10 lead halfway through the opening frame on a McDade three and led 17-14 when Amanda McGrew and Simmons drained back-to-back threes to take a 20-17 lead with 6:48 left before halftime.  A layup by Spanarkel with 4:01 left gave the Penmen a 23-22 lead, but UML would score the final eight points of the half to take a 30-23 halftime lead.

SNHU limited UMass Lowell to 32.9% shooting for the contest, but the River Hawks turned a 16-10 edge on the offensive glass into an 18-11 advantage in second chance points.  The Penmen outrebounded UML 45-43 overall, but were haunted by 24 turnovers.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Sunday when it travels to Bentley University for a 1:30 contest.