Tuesday, March 3 vs. NJIT (7 p.m.)
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SENIOR NIGHT: Tonight marks the final game in a UMass Lowell jersey for senior guards Shannon Samuels and Jasmine McRoy. Over their two seasons in Lowell McRoy has played in 55 games with 51 starts start while Samuels has started all 55 games she has appeared in.

LAST TIME OUT: Freshman Jontay Walton spearheaded a stout defensive effort by the River Hawks who won their second in a row, winning 72-64 at Vermont. Walton set personal high's in points (14) and steals (5) as the squad set a season-high with 16 steals in their America East finale. The team spoiled UVM's senior night by turning 22 Catamount turnovers into 25 points as four River Hawks scored in double-figures. Jasmine McRoy scored a team-high 15 points and added three thefts while Shannon Samuels and Melissa Frase added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS: NJIT also enters the contest as winners of their last two, blowing out Maryland Eastern Shore, 70-41, and most recently St. Josephís Brooklyn, 78-35. Forward Leah Horton leads the Highlanders in the scoring (10.1) and rebounding (6.6) departments while guard Alyssa Albanese comes second in points (10.0) with a team-high 4.5 assists. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: UMass Lowell dropped the first-ever meeting between the two programs in Newark last season, 87-75. Shannon Samuels sank 15 free throws on her way to a game-high 29 points and combined to score 52 points with Jasmine McRoy. UML would cut the NJIT lead to 48-47 just under three minutes into the second half but couldn't get any closer as the Highlanders outshot them in the second half 50.0 percent (15-30) to 33.3 percent (12-36). NJIT also shot 43.5 percent (10-23) from beyond the arc while the River Hawks made 17.4 percent (4-23) from deep.

EARLY SUCCESS: The River Hawks 72-64 decision over Vermont was their 13th win of the year and gave head coach Jenerrie Harris the most wins of any of the programs seven head coaches in their first year. Harris tied Deborah Preis ('76-'77) with 12 victories when UMass Lowell beat New Hampshire, 70-65, at the Tsongas Center on Feb. 21.

WALTON STEPS UP: Freshman Jontay Walton hit a pair of free throws with 28 seconds to set her season-high of 14 points while also adding another personal-best with five steals against Vermont. She made five-of-six attempts from the field, including her only attempt from deep while making all three of her free throws. Walton also set her previous highís in the same game, scoring 13 points with four steals against Mt. Ida.

AMERICA EAST PROGRESS: After finishing 5-23 overall with a 4-12 mark in league play and a seventh place finish in the America East standings last year,  UMass Lowell was picked to repeat as seventh in the preseason coaches poll. The River Hawks finished slightly above their preseason projection, finishing sixth in the standings with a 7-9 AE record. The team is ineligible for the conference tournament and NCAA tournament until the 2017-18 season.

SAMUELS REWRITING THE BOOKS: In two seasons Shannon Samuels has quickly worked her way into the programs history books in several categories. After setting the tenth highest single-season output last year with 440 points, Samuels enters her final game with 382 and could move ahead of Bianca Simmons (395 pts, '11-'12) for the 15th highest performance if she holds to her average of around 14 ppg.

Samuels has also made 228 free throws which places her eighth all-time and just seven makes behind Bianca Simmons ('09-'03) for seventh. Everybody else in the group played four seasons in Lowell, with Rosalyn Worsley ('87-'91) holding the record with 380.

MCROY NEARS HISTORY FROM DEEP: Jasmine McRoy has made 80 career three-pointers over her two season and can pass Laurie Mann ('93-'95) for 10th on the career list with 81 if she connects on two more in her River Hawk finale.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Jasmine McRoy scored a team-high 15 and was one of four River Hawks to reach double-figures in points against the Catamounts. Thursday's balanced offensive attack marked the ninth time this season the team has had four or more reach double-digits. The team holds a 6-3 record in those games. Jontay Walton (14), Shannon Samuels (11) and Melissa Frase (10) trailed McRoy in points.

SYNERGIZING: In the last four games the River Hawks have gone with a starting lineup of Shannon Samuels, Jasmine McRoy, Melissa Frase, Lindsey Doucette and Kayla Gibbs. The squad is 3-1 since the addition of Gibbs to the lineup.

RIVER HAWKS STEALING THE SHOW: The River Hawks have cranked up the defensive pressure, stealing a season-high 16 at Vermont while recording no less than 12 over the last four games. The squad holds a 4-2 record when having 12 or more steals.

RIVER HAWKS FLYING HIGH IN AE: The River Hawks finished among the leaders in the final America East Conference regular season statistics. The team shot a league-best  33.3 percent from deep and tied Hartford for three-point field goals made per game, averaging 6.8. The team finished second to Albany (69.0) in scoring offense (63.6) while ranking third in the AE in free throw percentage (71.4%) and blocked shots (2.8).