Schedule (PDF)

LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Women's Basketball Head Coach Jenerrie Harris has announced her team's full 2015-2016 schedule. The River Hawks will open their third season in Division I on the road, taking on ACC powerhouse Maryland on Saturday, November 14.

"This is an exciting time to unveil our 2015-2016 non-conference schedule to our supporters, alumni, student body, and all River Hawk fans," said Harris. "Outside of the high major teams we play this year, we're returning games to a lot of the same teams from last year's schedule."

The 2015-16 slate features 28 games, with 12 in front of River Hawk nation, highlighted by the home opener on Nov. 20 against Columbia at 7 p.m. UMass Lowell will welcome additional non-conference opponents Bryant (11/24, 6 p.m.), Boston University (12/1, 7 p.m.) and Holy Cross (12/9, 7 p.m.) to the friendly confines of the Costello Athletic Center.

Besides playing at back-to-back Final Four participant Maryland, the River Hawks will also hit the road for trips to Florida International (12/4) and Miami (12/6) in December.

"There are a lot of good teams on the schedule this year so we have a lot of work before our first non-conference game," added Harris. "This is a schedule that will challenge us as a team and it'll be interesting see what leaders emerge from the group throughout the season."

UMass Lowell will also travel to take on in-state rivals Boston College on December 20 and Massachusetts on Dec. 30, as part of a four-game road trip; the longest of the season.

The River Hawks will begin their 16-game, eight home-and-home matchups of the America East schedule on January 6 with a road contest against the Hartford Hawks. The conference home opener takes place three days later, January 9, when the Seawolves of Stony Brook travel to Costello for a 2 p.m. showdown.

"The America East is always tough and there are a lot of good players returning in our league," explained Harris. "We will have a completely different team than last year since losing to very talented seniors but I know we're up for the challenge. The conference schedule always presents its own challenges, but our non-conference schedule will prepare us for when we have a couple tough stretches in the conference schedule where we're playing tough teams on the road back-to-back."

The America East home calendar is highlighted by two confirmed games at the Tsongas Center, the state-of-the-art, 7,000 seat arena on UMass Lowell's campus.

As part of a doubleheader with the men's basketball team, the River Hawks try for their fourth-straight win in the Tsongas, with a matchup against Binghamton at 12 p.m. on Jan. 24. UMass Lowell will tip-off at 11 a.m. against Albany on Jan. 27, for School Day at the Tsongas.

"Our players love playing in Tsongas and our supporters love watching us play there," remarked Harris. "There's something to the bright lights that gets our players excited and brings them to another level of play. We're always grateful for the opportunity to play there, especially since it compares to every other arena we see throughout our conference. There's something about the Tsongas that makes our players know that no matter who we're playing it's going to be a good game."

The River Hawks will stay in Lowell to complete their three-game homestand on February 3 against Hartford at 7 p.m.

Other AE home tilts for UMass Lowell include UMBC on Jan. 16, Vermont on Jan. 18, Maine on Feb. 11 and New Hampshire on Feb. 17.

The 2015-2016 roster includes nine returners from last season's squad who went 14-15 (7-9), which was a 10-win improvement from the 2014 record. Harris and her staff added three incoming freshman to round out the team.