Lowell, Mass. (January 26) -- Trailing by 24 points in the second half, Assumption rallied to cut the lead to six before dropping an 89-74 final to UMass Lowell on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference play at Costello Gym. Assumption is receiving votes in the USA Today Sports Division II National Poll for the sixth straight week.

In the opening five minutes, the two teams were tied at 7-7 after a free throw from senior Katy Howard (Medway, Mass./Medway) for the Hounds. Over the next four minutes, the River Hawks answered with a 13-3 run that was capped by a pair of free throws to seize at 20-10 lead with 11:03 left in the period.

The Hounds cut the lead down to eight before a 10-0 UMass Lowell scoring spurt put the hosts in front by a 32-14 margin with 7:32 remaining. The River Hawks led by as many as 22 in the opening half before taking a 44-27 lead into the halftime break. The UMass Lowell full court press forced 16 Assumption first-half turnovers and converted those miscues into 23 points in the period. Howard led the Hounds with nine points in the first half, while UMass Lowell was led by 17 from Simmons, who leads the nation in scoring.

UMass Lowell kept up the pressure to start the second half and after an 8-0 run over a 1:14 stretch, the River Hawks held their biggest lead to that point at 56-33. The River Hawks pushed the lead up to as many as 24 before Assumption answered with a 10-2 run and cut the lead to 70-54 after a three-point play from sophomore Katie Cullerot (Hampton, N.H./John Stark).

Assumption kept the pressure up and with 3:22 remaining, the lead stood at just 75-69 following a baseline runner from Howard. Simmons answered with a big three for the River Hawks to push the lead back to nine before UMass Lowell pulled away for the 15-point final.

Howard, who now sits just 11 points from the 1,000 mark for her career, led the Hounds with a season-high 25 points. Senior Gabrielle Gibson (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) finished in double figures with 18 points, along with an 11-point outing from senior Sabrina Siciliano (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield-Warde) Simmons paced the River Hawks with a 33-point showing. For the game, the River Hawks forced 23 Assumption turnovers.

With the loss, Assumption falls into fourth place in the league at 12-5 overall and 9-4 in Northeast-10 play. UMass Lowell runs its winning streak to seven straight with the win and now sits in third place at 13-4 overall and 10-3 in league action.

Assumption is back in action on Tuesday, January 29th as the Hounds travel to Saint Michael's College for a 5:30 p.m. start at the Ross Sports Center.

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