West Hartford, Conn. - America East Conference Player of the Game Cassandra Callaway finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and four steals to lead UAlbany to a 46-43 win over Hartford in America East Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Chase Arena. It was the first win for the Great Danes over the defending regular-season champions since 2005.
UAlbany jumped out to an early 9-2 lead on back-to-back baskets by Felicia Johnson, sandwiched by a Julie Forster jumper and a 3-pointer by Callaway. After Hartford ended the Great Dane rally with a jumper by Ruthanne Doherty, UAlbany went on a 12-5 run to take a 21-9 lead at 7:40, capped by a Callaway trey. The Great Danes held Hartford without a basket for almost six minutes before Amanda Weaver connected on the second of two free throws to end the rally. Keyana Williams converted a shot in the paint for the Great Danes, but Jackie Smith hit her second shot from beyond the arc to pull the Hawks within 23-15 with 4:48 left to play in the half.
UAlbany pulled ahead by 11, 28-17, on a 3-pointer by Johnson followed by two free throws by Forster. Hartford attempted to rally once again, grabbing a defensive rebound and running to the opposite end of the floor for a Doherty basket. Johnson, who totaled a game-high 16 points for the Great Danes, converted a slashing layup with just over two minutes left to play, before Hartford's Nikkia Smith hit a jumper in the paint to cut the Great Dane lead back to 11, 30-19, at the half.
Hartford came out firing in the second half and cut the lead to single digits, but Johnson hit a long-range three from the top left of the arc to put the Great Danes back up by 11, 36-25, with 13:35 to play. Daphne Elliot converted two free throws, and the Hawks recorded a steal on the defensive end, setting Mary Silva up for a 3-pointer that pulled Hartford within 36-30 and forced UAlbany to take a time out with just under 13 minutes to play. The Hawks continued to rally, and pulled within 38-35 on a trey by Elliot at 8:51. Williams ended UAlbany's four-minute scoring drought with a free throw at 8:16 to keep the Great Danes on top.
Silva knocked down a wide-open three from the top of the arc with 3:58 on the clock to pull Hartford within 41-38. Elliot converted one-of-two free throws and followed with a jumper in the lane to tie the game at 41-41 with just 1:20 left to play. The Great Danes took a time out to regroup, and Callaway hit her third 3-pointer of the game to put UAlbany back on top with just over a minute to play. The Great Danes forced Hartford into a turnover on the next and Johnson hit a pull-up jumper to get up, 46-41, with 26 ticks on the clock. Doherty, who finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, grabbed an offensive board to pull the Hawks back within three, but the Great Danes used a stifling defense out of a timeout to seal the win.
"For our team, especially our seniors, this is everything," said UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who has guided the Great Danes to a 2-0 league slate. "I have been telling our team that we need to believe in each other and what we're doing and all of our hard work will pay off. Hartford played a great game, but we had poise. I'm proud of our team, they deserve it."
UAlbany (9-6, AE 2-0) shot 31.5 percent (18-52) from the floor and forced Hartford (5-11, AE 2-1) into 20 turnovers, including 10 steals. The Hawks outrebounded the Great Danes, 41-34, but managed just 31.5-percent (17-54) shooting from the field and a 4-of-9 performance from the free throw line.
UAlbany 46, Hartford 43 (01/08/11 at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion)
Official Basketball Box Score
ALBANY vs HARTFORD
01/08/11 3:00 p.m. at Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion
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VISITORS: ALBANY 9-6, 2-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 Callaway, Cassandra. * 4-10 3-4 1-1 3 5 8 0 12 2 0 0 4 36
05 Henry, Ebone........ * 2-8 0-2 1-4 1 5 6 3 5 2 4 0 2 31
11 Forster, Julie...... * 3-6 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 3 8 0 4 0 0 31
22 Johnson, Felicia.... * 7-18 2-6 0-1 0 3 3 0 16 3 5 0 3 39
24 Jones, Adrienne..... * 1-7 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 0 2 0 1 21
03 Basavand, Melia..... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5
21 Williams, Keyana.... 1-2 0-0 1-2 2 3 5 2 3 0 1 0 0 16
33 Makopondo, Tabitha.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 21
TEAM................ 4 3 7
Totals.............. 18-52 5-14 5-10 11 23 34 13 46 7 17 1 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-31 38.7% 2nd Half: 6-21 28.6% Game: 34.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 2-5 40.0% Game: 35.7% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-3 100 % 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 50.0% 3
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HOME TEAM: HARTFORD 5-11, 2-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 Smith, Jackie....... * 2-6 2-6 0-0 1 1 2 3 6 1 4 0 0 24
02 Elliott, Daphne..... * 4-8 1-3 3-4 1 2 3 1 12 1 2 0 0 30
03 Clark, Taylor....... * 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 1 3 0 0 13
10 Hall, Alex.......... * 1-7 0-3 0-2 3 4 7 0 2 3 1 1 1 37
44 Smith, Nikkia....... * 2-9 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 4 4 1 2 3 1 28
14 Weaver, Amanda...... 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 1 1 0 4 1 1 12
21 Mathis, Ilicia...... 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 14
22 Silvia, Mary........ 2-7 2-7 0-0 0 0 0 2 6 1 0 1 0 16
24 Doherty, Ruthanne... 6-12 0-0 0-1 5 7 12 1 12 0 3 0 2 26
TEAM................ 3 4 7
Totals.............. 17-54 5-20 4-9 17 24 41 14 43 10 20 6 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-27 29.6% 2nd Half: 9-27 33.3% Game: 31.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-12 25.0% Game: 25.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% Game: 44.4% 2,1
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Officials:
Technical fouls: ALBANY-None. HARTFORD-None.
Attendance: 1236
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
ALBANY........................ 30 16 - 46
HARTFORD...................... 19 24 - 43
Points in the paint-ALBANY 18,HARTFORD 20. Points off turnovers-ALBANY 13,HARTFORD 14.
2nd chance points-ALBANY 7,HARTFORD 11. Fast break points-ALBANY 4,HARTFORD 0.
Bench points-ALBANY 3,HARTFORD 19. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-ALBANY 2nd-00:26, HARTFORD 2nd-00:09.
Largest lead-ALBANY by 13 1st-02:14, HARTFORD None.
