Vestal, N.Y. - Ebone Henry recorded her third straight double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, leading UAlbany to a 37-36 win over Binghamton in America East Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday evening at the Events Center. The Great Danes improve to 13-8 on the season and 7-1 in America East play.
The game got off to a slow start, with neither team getting on the board until the 17:06 mark, when Binghamton's Orla O'Reilly scored on a layup. The Great Danes took a one-point lead almost two minutes later, as Lindsey Lowrie hit UAlbany's first bucket of the game, a 3-pointer off an assist from Adrienne Jones. The score remained tight throughout the first half, before O'Reilly hit a jumper to put the Bearcats ahead, 14-11, with 7:45 left to play. O'Reilly put Binghamton up by the largest margin of the half, 17-11, with a trey at the 5:00 mark, but Henry responded with a long-range shot of her own to cut the Bearcat lead back to three. After Andrea Holmes nailed a 3-pointer, Henry once again came back at the other end with her second consecutive trey at 3:18, which would prove to be the final basket of the half and send the teams to the locker room with Binghamton ahead, 20-17.
The Bearcats continued to hold onto their lead in the second half, getting ahead by eight on a second Holmes 3-pointer with 14:05 on the clock. UAlbany's Sarah Royals ended the run with a free throw, and the Great Danes climbed back to within two, 28-26, on a jumper by Cassandra Callaway with 8:32 left to play. Two made free throws by Julie Forster with just under six minutes on the clock tied the game and then gave UAlbany its first lead since early in the first half, and the Great Danes looked to roll from there.
Back-to-back layups by Megan Craig gave UAlbany a five-point lead, 35-30, but a conventional 3-point play by Viive Rebane pulled Binghamton back to within two with just over two minutes on the clock. UAlbany held onto its small advantage as the clock wound down, but Rebane got off a successful jumper with 49 ticks on the clock to tie the game for the fourth time. With under 30 seconds to go, Rebane made one of two free throws to give Binghamton a one-point advantage. However, a foul on Henry put the junior guard at the line, where she drained both shots with just six seconds on the clock, and the Great Danes were able to hold on for the victory.
O'Reilly finished with a game-high 16 points for Binghamton (10-11, AE 4-4), while Rebane finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards. Jasbriell Swain also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Bearcats, who managed to out-shoot the Great Danes by recording a 29.8 shooting percentage (14-47).
Henry was the only player in double-figures scoring for the Great Danes, while she also added two assists and two steals in 40 minutes of action. Forster pulled down 10 rebounds for her 12th game grabbing 10-plus boards.
UAlbany (13-8, AE 7-1) will return to action on Saturday, hosting Hartford at 3 p.m. The Great Danes defeated the Hawks, 40-37, earlier this season in the league opener.
