The UMass Lowell River Hawks beat the Niagara Purple Eagles 78-53 on Thursday night at Kennedy Family Athletic Complex. Nia Chima had 13 points and 9 rebounds and made all 3 of her 3-point attempts. Tyanna Medina added 13 points off the bench.
Niagara led by as many as 2 points early, and the game had 2 lead changes and 4 ties. UMass Lowell then won every quarter: 24-19 in the first, 17-8 in the second, 24-16 in the third and 13-10 in the fourth.
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The River Hawks pulled away with a 9-0 run in the second quarter that turned a 30-24 lead into a 39-24 cushion. Their lead grew to as many as 27 points.
Medina shot 6-of-10 from the field and had 4 steals in 16 minutes. Maddie Rice scored 10 points for UMass Lowell.
The River Hawks outrebounded Niagara 46-25 and outscored the Purple Eagles 42-28 in the paint and 22-14 on fast breaks. Niagara committed 26 turnovers to UMass Lowell's 21. The River Hawks shot 29-of-64 (45%) but went 5-of-26 from 3-point range.
Violeta Rojas led Niagara with 12 points off the bench. Kenedie Haruna scored 9 points in 14 minutes, and Jalyn Moore had 9 points in 36 minutes. The Purple Eagles shot 18-of-46 (39%).
UMass Lowell improved to 2-0, and Niagara fell to 0-2. The announced attendance was 208.
