BALTIMORE - UMBC hosts UMass Lowell on Saturday afternoon for its Senior Day celebration as the Retrievers close out the regular season inside the 'Peake. The Retrievers enter the game 14-13 overall and 9-6 in America East play after defeating Bryant on Thursday evening to clinch the number-four seed and a home playoff game in the America East playoffs. UMass Lowell enters the game 8-20 overall and 2-13 in conference play.
Saturday's meeting is the 25th all-time between UMBC and UMass Lowell. The River Hawks hold a 13-12 advantage despite three straight wins from the Retrievers. The series has featured a number of multi-game streaks, starting with UMass Lowell winning the first four meetings in 2014 and 2015 before UMBC took seven straight between 2016 and 2018. UMass Lowell won three straight three different times between 2019 and 2024 before the Retrievers took the three most recent meetings. UMBC is 7-5 at home against the River Hawks. UMBC came out of the gates hot in the first meeting, scoring 23 first-quarter points to take a seven-point lead. The Retrievers went wire-to-wire in the 75-52 victory, shooting 51.8 percent from the floor. Heidi Williams set a career-high with 22 points, while Jade Tillman added 19 points and nine rebounds. Jaini Edmonds had 20 points and six boards in the losing effort for UMass Lowell.
LAST TIME OUT
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Playing in a second consecutive double overtime game, UMBC raced back from a fourth-quarter deficit before outlasting Bryant, 65-59, in double overtime on Thursday evening. Thursday marks the second time this season in which the Retrievers have come back from a double-digit deficit to win the game. The Retrievers also remain unbeaten against Bryant in program history, improving to 8-0 against the Bulldogs since they joined the America East.
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UMass Lowell enters the final game at 8-20 with a 2-13 record in league play. The River Hawks fell to Vermont on Thursday night, falling 68-37. Klimentina Modeva led UMass Lowell with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Nikola Priede led the Catamounts with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Keira Hanson (16) and Emma Haan (15) both had stellar performances.
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
- The name of the game for the River Hawks in 2025-26 has been avoiding fouls and shooting threes. UMass Lowell ranks third in the league and 43rd nationally, committing just 14.4 fouls per game. Offensively, the River Hawks lead the conference and rank 44th nationally, taking 24.6 threes per game.
- Jaini Edmonds is the lone River Hawk to start all 28 games and is the program's leading scorer at 13.6 points per game. Edmonds is second on the team with 46 threes made and is knocking down 81.7 percent of her free throws. Edmonds has five 20-plus-point games this season, including a 26-point, 10-rebound, five-assist effort in an overtime battle with LIU.
- Sabrina Larsson (26) and Maddie Rice (21) are the other two UMass Lowell players with 20 or more starts this season. Larsson tops the team with 52 triples made this season, and averages 7.8 points per game. Larsson had a 13-point effort against NJIT on Feb. 5, but has been held scoreless in three of the past four games. Rice leads the team in rebounding at 6.1 per game. She has three games this season with 11 or more rebounds and had an 18-point, six-rebound, five-assist performance against UAlbany on Feb. 7 before missing a handful of games. She returned to action on Thursday, playing 20 minutes and grabbing six rebounds versus Vermont.
SCOUTING THE DAWGS
- On Thursday night, UMBC junior Jade Tillman became the 15th player in Retriever history to score 400 points in a season. Tillman currently ranks 20th all-time on the single-season scoring list with 406 points in 27 games this season. Tillman is the first player since Tey'jah Oliver in 2019-20 to reach 400 points in a season. Tillman has scored in double figures in 20 straight games.
- Tillman currently sits third all-time in single-season free throw percentage, knocking down 87.9 percent of her free throws. She ranks 25th in Division I and is second in the America East.
- Six-time America East Rookie of the Week, Heidi Williams continues to have a significant impact on the Retrievers' success. Averaging 9.8 points per game and 5.4 rebounds, Williams has upped those numbers to 10.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in America East play. Williams has scored in double figures 12 times this season and in seven of 15 America East games. She recorded her third double-double of the season and second in league play on Saturday at UAlbany.
- Carmen Yanez sits 12th all-time in UMBC history with 268 assists, recently passing Karyn Swann and Michelle Kurowski on the all-time list. Yanez has 10 games this season with five or more assists and has moved into the top-50 nationally, ranking 47th in assist/turnover ratio this season with a 1.95 mark.
- UMBC ranks third in the America East and 25th nationally in three-point percentage defense. Opposing teams are knocking down just 27.1 percent of their tries from deep against UMBC. The Retrievers have held their opponent to three or fewer triples in 12 different games. Opponents have also shot 30 % or worse from deep in 15 different games this season.
- Currently holding opponents to 58.1 points per game, the Retrievers rank 36th in Division I in scoring defense. With last Thursday's effort, UMBC has held the opposition under 50 points nine times this season.
- UMBC leads the America East and ranks 56th nationally in offensive rebounding. The Retrievers have 20 or more offensive boards in five games this season and 15 or more in 10 games this season.
ROOKIE RECORD WATCH
- On Monday, February 16, Heidi Williams became just the second Retriever in America East history to log six America East Rookie of the Week nods.
- Williams is the first player in over a decade to do so, joining Sara Tarbert, who accomplished the feat during the 2013-14 campaign.
- With multiple games to go, both Williams and Kennedy Austin have worked their way onto the UMBC freshman record lists. With a steal against Bryant, Williams moved into fourth place on the freshman list with 49 steals. She is also one field goal and 12 points away from the freshmen top 10.
- Kennedy Austin recently moved into a tie for 10th on the rookie list in free throws made with 67, but has been kept from the free-throw line in each of the last three games.
NOTHING BUT NET
- As of Friday, Feb. 27, UMBC ranks 192nd in the NCAA's NET rankings. In the NET era, UMBC had never reached higher than 269 in the rankings prior to the 2025-26 season. The Retrievers reached 187th earlier this season, the program's highest-ever ranking.
- UMBC is 1-1 in Quadrant 1 with a win over Virginia and a loss to Maryland.
- UMBC recently defeated 87th-ranked Vermont, the program's first Quadrant 3 win of the season and second win over a top-100 opponent.
- Bryant enters the game 347th in the NET.
- UMBC in the Comprehensive WBB Rankings - NET - 194 | Massey - 259 | KPI - 186 | Her Hoops - 204
DAWGS IN THE TOP 10
UMBC has a number of players in the top 10 in the America East in various stat categories
- Jade Tillman - 1st in Steals (54), 2nd in FT % (87.9), 4th in FTM (102), 6th in RPG (7.2), 5th in PPG (15.0)
- Kennedy Austin - 7th in FT% (73.6)
- Carmen Yanez - 1st in A/TO (1.9), 4th in assists (109), 3rd in APG (4.0)
- Delaney Yarborough - 8th in blocks & BPG (22, 0.8)
- Heidi Williams - 3rd in SPG (1.8), 3rd in steals (49)
PLAYOFF BASKETBALL!
- With UMBC's victory over Bryant on Thursday, and Vermont's victory over UMass Lowell, the Retrievers clinched the number four seed in the America East playoffs and will host either Bryant or NJIT at CEI Arena on Thursday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m.
- UMBC last hosted an America East Quarterfinal game on March 1, 2023, defeating NJIT 82-71. Thursday's game will be just the second home game for UMBC in the AE Playoffs since the league switched back to the home game model based on seed.
HISTORY MADE
- UMBC's victory on the road at Virginia was a historic one for the Retrievers. UMBC never trailed, allowing Virginia to tie the contest once in the fourth before fighting off the Cavalier rally for a 61-56 victory.
- The win on Thursday was the first Power 4 (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12) victory in UMBC program history, snapping a streak of 38 straight losses against such programs. UMBC was previously 0-4 all-time against Virginia and 0-15 against the ACC.
- The 64 percent UMBC shot from three in the win proved to be its best showing from distance since shooting 66.7 percent from deep at George Mason in December 2024.
- Candice Hill's program shocked the Cavaliers from the jump, building an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. The lead grew to 14 midway through the second quarter as Yánez drilled a three to make it 33-19 Retrievers. UMBC took an eight-point lead into the break and led by 12 at the 7:40 mark of the third as Williams connected from deep, but UVA was able to trim the deficit to one with 37 ticks left on the third quarter clock. Kennedy Austin found Scott open for three with 11 seconds remaining in the third to put the Retrievers up by four entering the final quarter of play. Virginia tied the game at 54 with 3:13 to play, but the Cavaliers never took the lead as the Retrievers held on to win on the road. Tiara Bellamy went baseline, converting a reverse layup with 28 seconds left to put UMBC up by three. Virginia once again pulled within one, but Williams made four free throws in the final six seconds to ice the game.
GETTING TO KNOW THE DAWGS
- Hill's program features five returners and eight newcomers in 2025-26. Carmen Yánez is the lone returning starter for UMBC, while fellow captain Tiara Bellamy is expected to fill a larger role. Also back are junior Alaina Williams, and sophomores Lauren Thompson and Kenya Ramsey.
- UMBC's eight newcomers are split between four transfers and four freshmen.
- The 2025-26 Retrievers represent three countries and six states.
- Maryland (5) -> Austin, Scott, Tillman, H. Williams, Yarborough
- New Jersey (2) -> Bellamy, Slomack
- Connecticut (1) -> Thompson
- Florida (1) -> A. Williams
- Virginia (1) -> Ramsey
- West Virginia (1) -> Jones
- Spain (1) -> Yánez
- England (1) -> Crowley
- Yánez, Bellamy, and Yarborough will captain the program in 2025-26. Yánez started 28 games last season and handed out five or more assists in seven different games. Bellamy averaged just under four points per game off the bench in year one as a Retriever after transferring from Saint Peter's. Yarborough, the veteran transfer from NC A&T, posted five games with at least five rebounds and put forth her best performance of the season (9 pts, 6 reb) against her former school, Stony Brook.
2024-25 IN REWIND
- The 2024-25 Retrievers posted a record of 14-15 in year one under Candice Hill, matching the 2022-23 record for the most wins since 2016-17 for UMBC women's hoops.
- UMBC reached the America East Conference Tournament as the #7 seed before falling to #2 Vermont, 70-39. The Retrievers held a two-point lead after the opening 10 minutes before the Catamounts pulled away.
- The name of the game for the Retrievers in 2024-25 was defense as UMBC ranked in the top-65 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 59.1 points per game. The Retrievers defended the three-point line extremely well, finishing the season 37th in Division I and second in the America East as teams shot just 28.1 percent from deep.
- UMBC was also stellar at the charity stripe last season, knocking down its free throws at a 74.7 percent clip, ranking in the top-80 in Division I and recording the third-best mark in program history.
- Under Hill's guidance, the Retrievers improved offensively from behind the three-point line (29.5% -> 30.4 %) and the free-throw line (67.8% -> 74.7%). The Retrievers also handed out 10.4 assists per game compared to 9.9 the season prior and turned the ball over 1.3 fewer times per game in 2024-25.
AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL
1. Vermont 63 (7)
2. Maine 55 (2)
3. Bryant 46
4. UAlbany 42
5. NJIT 37
6. Binghamton 26
7. New Hampshire 24
8. UMBC 23
9. UMass Lowell 8
WHAT'S NEXT
