Albany, N.Y. - Erin Brown scored 19 points while Michelle Kurowski added 18 in leading UMBC to a 59-53 comeback win over UAlbany in women's basketball action on Wednesday afternoon at SEFCU Arena. The game was a rare noontime matinee for the 5th Annual Commitment to Education Day, as the Great Danes welcomed over 800 students from 14 local elementary and middle schools.

            UMBC scored 42 second-half points, rallying back from a 29-17 halftime deficit. The Great Danes raced out to a 13-5 lead after five minutes of play, and built up a 19-10 advantage midway through the first half on a defensive rebound and jumper by Keyana Williams. Two free throws from UMBC's Meghan Colabella pulled the Retrievers within seven, but a jumper by Felicia Johnson, who finished with seven points, kept the Great Danes ahead by 10, 23-13, with 6:22 left in the first half. UAlbany forward Julie Forster hit a jumper in the lane with 10 seconds remaining to set the halftime score in the Great Danes' favor.

            UAlbany continued to roll to start the second half, building up a 16-point lead, 35-19, on an Ebone Henry layup with just over 16 minutes on the clock. Kurowski responded by nailing one of UMBC's eight 3-pointers, which spurred the Retrievers on a 12-0 run, pulling within 35-31 at 13:16 on a Brown trey. Henry, UAlbany's America East Player of the Game, took an assist from Johnson and knocked down a 3-pointer of her own on the next possession, and helped the Great Danes build up a nine-point advantage on a conventional three-point play halfway through the period.

            However, Kurowski and Brown hit 3-pointers on three consecutive UMBC possessions to pull the Retrievers within a point, 50-49, with 5:14 left to play. With 4:27 on the clock, Kurowski, who went 6-for-6 from the free throw line, sank two shots from the charity stripe to give UMBC their first lead of the game since the opening minute of play. Kurowski, who also totaled five assists and three steals, converted a layup on the Retrievers' next possession to put UMBC ahead, 53-50. On the ensuing possession, Henry nailed an off-balance 3-pointer, scoring three of her game-high 23 points, to tie the game for the third time in an attempt to put the Great Danes back in control. UMBC used up the clock, and Brown, who was the team's America East Player of the Game, hit a jumper in the paint with 1:22 remaining, while Kurowski hit all four of her attempts at the free throw line in the final minute of play to seal the win for the Retrievers.

            Forster scored 15 points for UAlbany, going 9-of-9 from the free throw line, while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds in 40 minutes of play. Henry, who reached the 20-point plateau for the third time this season, hit all four of UAlbany's 3-pointers, and also recorded two steals and one assist. Colabella finished with a game-high 11 rebounds for UMBC (12-9, AE 6-2), while Tope Obajolu added 11 points and a game-high three blocks.

            UAlbany (11-9, AE 4-3) will return to action on Sunday, hosting Vermont in an America East Conference matchup.

UMBC 59, UAlbany 53 (1/26/11 at Albany, N.Y. (SEFCU Arena))

UMBC 59

Albany 53