Lowell, Mass. – Onome-Juliet Esadah (Warri, Delta State, Nigeria) had a career-high 21 points and added 14 rebounds, but host UMass Lowell used an 18-2 fourth quarter run to rally past the UMBC Women's Basketball team, 76-72, on Monday.
How it Happened
- UMBC (1-12, 0-3 AE) jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, lead by Esadah scoring four of them.
- UMass Lowell (4-7, 1-1 AE) would respond with a 15-0 run to take a nine point lead
- Janee'a Summers (Bound Brook, N.J.) went on a personal 5-0 run late in the quarter to trim the deficit to two, but UML took a 22-18 lead into the second quarter.
- The River Hawks again used a huge run, this time opening up a game-high 15 point advantage at 35-20, less than four minutes into the second.
- The Retrievers would claw back into it as Jatarrikah Settle (Frederick, Md.) hit a layup with just four seconds left before the buzzer to send UMBC into the half trailing just 41-35
- UMBC opened the second half on a 10-0 run, to take its first lead since the first quarter. Overall, it was a 25-6 run dating back to the second quarter.
- Lowell would again re-take the lead, and the teams would trade baskets until Settle hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to give the Retrievers a 57-56 lead heading into the fourth
- Esadah and Alexia Nelson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit layups to give UMBC a 61-56 lead just 52 seconds into the fourth, but that's when UML would go on its 18-2 run over the next 5:15 to take a 74-63 lead with 3:53 left.
- Esadah would get a three-point play, followed by a Jasmine Braswell (Ashburn, Va.) jumper and a Loan-Anh Johnson (Wichita, Kan.) cut the River Hawk lead to 74-70 with 1:30 left.
- The hosts would hit a jumper, to push the lead back to six before Settle hit a pair of free throws with 49 seconds left to make it 76-72, but neither team would score again.
Keelah Dixon (Boston, Mass.) scored 11 points to join Esadah (21), Settle (15) and Nelson (12) in double-figures for UMBC. Summers finished with seven points, and nine of Esadah's 14 rebounds were on the offensive glass.
The Retrievers wrap up its three-game road trip at UAlbany on Wednesday morning. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. and fans can watch on ESPN+.
