BALTIMORE - UMBC graduate student forward
Kiara Bell scored a career-best 24 points, leading five Retrievers in double figures, as a program record Midday Madness crowd of 3,027 witnessed a 76-59 victory over UMass Lowell at Chesapeake Arena.
The Retrievers (7-10, 4-2 America East) have won five of their last seven outings.
UMBC put the game out of reach by amassing a 28-point second quarter and taking a 47-20 lead into intermission.
The Retrievers converted 10-of-14 shots from the floor and all seven free throw attempts in the second stanza. Bell converted all four field goal attempts in the period and scored 13 points in the first half.
Sophomore guard
Laycee Drake amassed 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a pair of assists through the first 20 minutes. Her three steals occurred in a span of 34 seconds (9:07, 8:53 and 8:33) in the second quarter.
On the opening possession of the game, Drake drained a trey, starting an opening 15-4 Retriever surge. UMBC would settle for a 19-10 lead after 10 minutes, then scored a season-high 28 points in the second quarter.
The River Hawks opened the second half on a 12-2 run to slice the deficit to 49-32 at the 5:38 mark of the period. But a McCalla jumper and Drake trey stemmed the tide and the hosts took a 63-41 lead into the final quarter. Â Â
UMass Lowell again started the final period on a run, scoring the first six points of the period to get within 16 points at 63-47 just 50 seconds into the frame.
Bell converted 10-of-12 shots from the floor and tied teammates Drake and
Ashia McCalla with a team-best seven rebounds. She has scored in double figures in eight of her last nine games and is averaging 14.2 points per game in that span.
Grad student guard
KK White added 16 points, while Drake added a dozen. McCalla and graduate student guard
Keelah Dixon each scored 10 points for the victors.
Kaylen Banwareesingh led the River Hawks (1-15, 0-6 America East) with 17 points. Â
UMBC competes at New Hampshire on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tip-off time at Lundholm Gymnasium is set for 1:00 p.m.
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