LOWELL, MA (Jan. 8, 2008) – Junior C Revital Carmon (Bat-Yam, Israel) scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds as UMass Lowell defeated Merrimack College, 76-67, Tuesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

With the win, UML improved to 7-7 overall and 2-7 in the NE-10 entering Saturday’s home game against Pace (2:00). The Warriors slipped to 4-11 overall and 0-9 in the Conference.

Sophomore G Rahshala Valentine (Cincinnati, OH) shattered the school record for assists as she dealt 14, edging the previous mark of 13 achieved by Marsha Blalock on Nov. 28, 1997. Valentine also added nine points (4-7 field goal shooting) and three rebounds.

Carmon converted 6 of 9 field goals and 3 of 4 free throws and also chipped in three steals and two assists. Sophomore G Megan Berry (Ipswich, MA) added 13 points, hitting 5 of 9 field goals and 3 of 4 from long range, and five rebounds.

Sophomore G Casey Miller (Anchorage, AK) led the Warriors with 19 points, hitting 5 of 10 field goals and 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Junior G Amanda Shannon (North Andover, MA) added 18 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Led by Carmon, the River Hawks outscored the Warriors 42-18 in the paint and 18-2 on the fast break, the latter which fueled Valentine’s milestone night. Turnovers were nearly even – UML with 20 and Merrimack with 21 – but it was the River Hawks who capitalized, outscoring the Warriors 24-17 off mistakes.

UML led 48-42 with 16:48 left in the game and used an 18-1 run to establish a 66-43 cushion with 10:38 left to play. Berry led the run with three 3-point goals. The River Hawks maintained a double-digit lead until the final 21 seconds en route to the win.

UML led at the break 42-35, shooting .586 in the first half (17-29).