Tate, Richards Use Second Half Charge to Lead UAlbany WBB to Victory at Canisius 64-59
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BUFFALO, N.Y. – The UAlbany women's basketball team used a second half surge, led by Imani Tate and Shereesha Richards combining for 38 points in the game, and held off Canisius 64-59 to earn the road victory on Wednesday night.
“I am happy we got the win in a tough place to play,” said UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “Imani [Tate] and Shereesha [Richards] were awesome offensively in the second half, and our top two guards did a good job pressuring the ball.”
In a game that featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes, UAlbany (3-1), down 48-47 with 4:34 left, outscored Canisius (0-3) 13-4 in the following 3:19, not relinquishing the lead down the stretch.
With the victory, UAlbany earned its 200th win in Division I history.
Tate shot 9-10 from the field off the bench for UAlbany, leading the team in points with 21, rebounds with six and steals with three. Her 21 points is one-shy of her career-high.
“Our defense was more intense in the second half, and it led to better play on the offensive end,” said Tate. “I was looking for the open shot, and I do was I was supposed to do, take pressure off the frontcourt.”
Richards went 7-9 on field goals for 17 points, adding five boards and two steals. Jessica Féquière had seven points and three boards, while Sarah Royals had a team-high four assists with four points on free throws.
For Canisius, Emily Weber went 4-7 from three, finishing with 14 points in the game. Crystal Porter got 12 points and eight rebounds.
Both sides got off to a slow start as UAlbany held on the 2-3 zone and Canisius pressured in the paint. UAlbany looked for Richards underneath the basket, with the junior hitting both of the team's first baskets as the score was tied 4-4 in the opening five minutes.
UAlbany went ahead with a couple of layups underneath from Tate and Richards. Canisius, looking to the perimeter, saw Margret Halfdanardottir hit an elbow three to push the home team back up. Tiana-Jo Carter hit the front end of a pair of free throws to tie the game up at 9-9 with 12:36 remaining in the 1st.
The home team went back up with a Porter jumper in the paint, later adding free throws as UAlbany looked to break the Canisius zone. With Canisius leading 13-9, Erin Coughlin hit a three to spark the team. Tate and Féquière added layups to push UAlbany in front 16-15 at the final first half media timeout.
The two sides went back and forth, constantly exchanging the lead in the final minutes in a variety of ways from the three to the free throw line. The first half as a whole saw seven ties and 11 lead changes. Féquière hit a long jumper just inside the top of the arc with 11 seconds left in the period to send UAlbany into the locker room up 25-23.
The offenses again came out of the locker room having trouble getting points. Tiahana Mills hit a layup 75 seconds in. Richards, who was limited in the first half due to early fouls, quickly hit two layups to pull UAlbany ahead, which was countered by four points by Canisius. Margarita Rosario hit a three with a defender's hand right next to her to put UAlbany back in front 32-29 with 14:49 in the second.
The teams continued to exchange baskets, with Canisius hitting a transition three, then Tate ran into the paint, hitting a layup and one. Canisius went back up with a pair of baskets, then Richards came through again with two more baskets.
At 42-38 UAlbany, Porter netted a putback layup, then on the next possession, Weber hit a kick-out three to put the home team back ahead. Tate hit a baseline jumper to put UAlbany back up. Mungo hit a free throw, then Tate hit another jumper in the paint. The back-and-forth continued as Weber hit a three up top the arc. Richards hit the front end of a one-and-one to tie the game at 47-47 with five minutes to go.
Canisius got the 48-47 lead off the back end of Kayla Hoohuli's free throw attempts. The other way, Tate hit a layup to give UAlbany the lead again. Carter forced a steal on the next Canisius possession, as Richards hit a pair of free throws to build the advantage to three. A Porter jumper put the score to 53-52 UAlbany with 2:54 left to play.
From there, UAlbany put together a 7-0 run off another Tate jumper, a Carter layup and one and a paint jumper from Tate to make it 60-52. Each side exchanged points as UAlbany kept the lead the rest of the way, winning 64-59.
UAlbany returns home for the Thanksgiving break and will play Hofstra at the SEFCU Arena on Tuesday, December 2nd at 7 p.m.
