Shane Foley
Connector Editor
Asia Mitchell-Owens, sophomore from Roxbury, Mass., wasn’t really worried about her shooting last Wednesday night. “I don’t really worry about it,” she said. “I just worry about playing defense and doing other things to help my team.”
Whether she was trying or not, Mitchell-Owens was 5-5 from the 3-point arch, as the River Hawks women’s basketball team lost a tight battle to University of Rhode Island 75-66.
Wednesday night can be summed up as a tale of two halves. The River Hawks played solid defense in the first half, holding their opponent’s field goal percentage to 30%. They went into the locker room at the half with a tie game at 34 points apiece. Rhode Island ended up shooting a much higher percentage after the half.
The River Hawks got off to an aggressive start, pressing Rhode Island on defense and running the floor well on offense. With only 4:30 left in the half, Rhode Island was 9-30 from the field. Of the 26 points they had, 14 were in the paint, as it was difficult for Rhode Island to develop any outside shooting game.
“The girls did a good job of reading the scouting report,” said Head Coach Jenerrie Harris, who made her home debut for UMass Lowell.
At that same point in the game, the River Hawks were shooting 62.5 percent from the field. Melissa Frase sunk two big 3’s, as well as Mitchell-Owens.
After that 4:30 mark however, things began to turn in Rhode Island’s favor. They switched to a full court press, and trapped guards Jasmine McRoy and Shannon Samuels as they crossed half court. Rhode Island prevented UMass Lowell from scoring for the rest of the half, tying up the score at 34-34.
“When they went to their full court press, their 2-2-1 zone, we lost a little bit of our minds,” said Coach Harris.
Rhode Island kept that defense through most of the second half. They got significant separation from UMass Lowell at points, including one point where the score was 54-47. However, UMass Lowell came back to cut it close, with a score of 56-53 with 8:24 remaining.
Mitchell-Owens shot three of her five 3-point shots in the second half, and two of them were after this 8:24 mark. As a team, UMass Lowell ended up shooting 24 threes in the game.
The River Hawks were very happy to see the frequent shooting. “I’d like to see us get more shots,” said McRoy, senior shooting guard.
Mitchell-Owens shot her last three of the game with 55 seconds left. It cut Rhode Island’s lead to only one point at 67-66. Unfortunately, UMass Lowell had two players foul out, including power forward Brianna Rudolf, who filled in for injured Nicole Riddick with six points and two rebounds. UMass Lowell didn’t score for the rest of the game, and Rhode Island emerged victorious.
Although it was a loss, the River Hawks had many things to hang their hats on. “It’s tough to lose a game when you shoot 50 percent from the field,” said Coach Harris.
