UAlbany Women's Basketball Pounds Boston University in 83-43 Road Victory
Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
Postgame Interviews (Facebook) - Coach Abe | Shereesha Richards
BOSTON – In the rematch between former conference foes, the UAlbany women's basketball team dominated from start to finish for an 83-43 road victory over Boston University on Wednesday night.
“We can a very good job defensively, I didn't think the offense was that organized this game, but I thought we did an excellent job in transition,” said UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “We used two different presses, and I thought defensively, we were a lot better today.”
UAlbany (2-0) earned a 51-point first half and held Boston University (0-2) to just 18 points in that span. UAlbany shot 55% from the field and outrebounded its opponent 39-23.
For the second straight game, Shereesha Richards and Imani Tate each scored 20+ points, with Richards finishing with 22 points and nine boards and Tate tallying 20 points, six boards, four steals and three assists.
“It is a great first road win, and we are very excited about that,” said Richards. “We have just been attacking; [Imani Tate] is another strong scorer, and when I am out, she goes to work, when I'm in, we both go to work.”
Richards, with 1,711 career points, moved to 18th all-time in scoring in America East history and has earned double digit points in her last 35 games dating back to last season.
Tiana-Jo Carter netted 11 points and grabbed three rebounds off the bench, while Bose Aiyalogbe went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field with two steals. Zakiya Saunders earned a game-best six assists, adding nine points off 4-5 shooting. All of UAlbany's active players played in the game against Boston University.
For BU, four players scored nine points, including Sarah Hope, who added three assists and three rebounds. Naiyah Thompson had nine points and two blocks.
As turnovers were common by both sides early, Richards led early with the team's first six points. Saunders followed with the team's next three layups. UAlbany continued to attack the paint in transition and force steals, leading to Richards and Aiyalogbe to hit layups. With Cassandra Edwards leading the defense on charges in the paint, the Great Danes led 19-9 after the first quarter.
At 19-12 in the 2nd, UAlbany earned baskets on its next seven possessions. Adding a Tate layup and free throw to those possessions, UAlbany earned an 18-4 run to make it 37-16.
Following a Melton jumper, Carter hit a putback layup, followed by an Erin Coughlin three off a screen. The other way, Tate stole a pass at midcourt, sprinted to the basket, made a spin move to shake off the defender and hit the layup. The UAlbany defense held BU off the board the final 3:23 of the half as UAlbany built a 51-18 lead, ending the 2nd quarter on a 13-0 streak.
Tate led the way for the Great Danes in the beginning of the second half, scoring four layups in succession for UAlbany in a span of two minutes. The defense kept forcing turnovers as the frontcourt of Carter and Veronika Lavergne added free throws as the Great Danes led 67-29 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter saw many of UAlbany's newcomers see the floor. BU kept firing away from three against the UAlbany zone. In the opening five minutes, Aiyalogbe hit two layups, with Bailey Hixson adding a kickout wing three. Down the stretch, Heather Forster made her first collegiate basket while Khara Keane and Aubrey Hernandez made their collegiate debuts. UAlbany took the 83-43 victory in Boston.
UAlbany will return to New England in three days to compete in the URI Invitational, playing Toledo in Rhode Island on Saturday, November 21st at 3 p.m.
