Senior forward Lindsey Doucette becomes the 15th UMass Lowell women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points with a third-quarter layup against the Hartford Hawks Wednesday night. (Photo courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics)
Senior forward Lindsey Doucette notched her 1,000th career point as a River Hawk as the UMass Lowell women’s basketball team fell to Hartford in a 75-70 overtime thriller Wednesday night at the Costello Athletic Center.
The River Hawks and the Hartford Hawks played an even game, matching point for point for the majority of the match. Despite a strong offensive showing in the third and fourth quarters, neither team could hold the lead for long.
UMass Lowell trailed with seconds left in the final quarter but junior guard Nicole Hayner tied the game with a three-pointer and sent the game into overtime. The River Hawks couldn’t hold onto their scoring momentum in overtime and after committing five of six fouls.
“Just really proud of the effort that we had and, unfortunately, we just didn’t make enough winning plays at the end to win in overtime,” said UMass Lowell head coach Jenerrie Harris about the loss.
In the third quarter of the high-intensity match up, Doucette’s layup with 1:01 left in the period put her past the 1,000 point milestone and brought the game to 46-43 in favor of the visiting Hawks. The bucket brought her to 19th of 28 total points on the night. Doucette became the 15th player in program history to score 1,000 points in their career.
“We’re ready for every single game,” Doucette said. “We have seven games left now and this past week we’ve worked super hard. And I know for me and Mel [Melissa Frase] being seniors, we’re leaving it out on the floor every single game and I know our teammates are backing us up with that every single game.”
The first quarter started off evenly matched. Doucette scored first for the River Hawks, giving UMass Lowell an early lead that went back and forth with Hartford as they answered UMass Lowell basket for basket. An offensive burst from the River Hawks gave Lowell a firm three-point lead at the end of the quarter.
The start of the second quarter featured high pressure defense from both sides. The River Hawks took their time with the ball on offensive and laid out clean plays that featured strong passing from Doucette, Hayner, and Frase. However, the River Hawks forfeited several scoring opportunities to the shot clock, and Hartford was able to capitalize and take the lead. The second quarter ended with a 25-22 score in favor of Hartford.
The second half of the game turned physical, with the third quarter seeing nine fouls committed, five by UMass Lowell. Hartford saw the largest lead of the game in the third quarter, where they briefly pulled ahead by nine points. The River Hawks were able to retaliate, with the offensive duo of Doucette and sophomore forward Kayla Gibbs earning the River Hawks 13 points in the final five minutes of the quarter. By the end of the third, the River Hawks trailed by just one.
Hartford earned the first offensive points in the final quarter of regulation time. However, strong movement around the ball and good defense kept UMass Lowell in the game. The River Hawks played a strong and physical defensive game, committing seven fouls and earning five defensive rebounds. While UMass Lowell trailed at the start of the quarter, they regained the lead in the final minutes before conceding to a tie to end regulation time.
Overtime started off strong for the River Hawks after a basket from Doucette, but UMass Lowell couldn’t hold onto the lead. UMass Lowell trailed after a series of fouls in the final minutes gave Hartford seven free throw attempts, five of which they made, sealing the game for the visitors.
The River Hawks will travel to Stony Brook for another America East matchup Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m.