20+ Point Performances from Richards & Saunders Help UAlbany Women's Basketball Edge Yale 74-70
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Game Highlights
ALBANY, N.Y. – Led by 31 points from Shereesha Richards, the UAlbany women's basketball team's fourth quarter push gave the Great Danes a 74-70 victory over Yale for the team's ninth win on the season.
The teams were tied at 53-53 going into the final quarter. As the two sides traded the lead back and forth, UAlbany (9-3), holding a one-point lead with 2:31 left, had a late 5-0 run and held Yale (8-7) without points for two minutes. UAlbany held off the Bulldogs in the final seconds to pick up the four-point win.
Yale went 10-19 from the three-point line; UAlbany countered by shooting 58.7% from the field, hitting 20 free throws and outrebounding the Bulldogs 35-24. Down 34-29 at the break, it is the first time this season that UAlbany has won when trailing at the half.
“Yale is a good team, they are tough and did a good job hitting threes,” said UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “Obviously, we won because we have Shereesha [Richards], but we need to work on our defense.”
Richards finished with her third double-double of the year, shooting 13-19 from the field for 31 points and 12 rebounds. Nearly earning a triple-double, Zakiya Saunders scored a career-high 21 points off 9-10 shooting, adding seven assists and eight rebounds.
“We felt we did not play well today, but we found a way to win,” said Saunders. “We just need to do the little things a little better.”
In addition, Imani Tate netted 16 points with four steals and four assists. Tiana-Jo Carter concluded with four points, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
For Yale, Nyasha Sarju had a team-high 21 points, adding five rebounds. Meghan McIntyre and Whitney Wyckoff had 14 and 13 points respectively.
Early turnover troubles for UAlbany led to Yale hitting a couple of threes for an 8-4 advantage. UAlbany called a timeout and attacked the basket the next two times for layups to tie the game.
The countering continued as UAlbany attacked inside while Yale knocked down three-pointers. With a 6-0 run from scoring from Richards and Tate, UAlbany took the lead at 16-13 before Yale tied it up with another three to make it 16-16 after the first quarter.
The exchanges continued into the second quarter as Yale took the advantage with baskets from Jen Berkowitz and Sarju. UAlbany kept with the gameplan and attacked the paint with Carter and Tate, leading to a 25-22 lead midway through the period.
At 27-24, Wyckoff and Lena Munzer each hit a three from the wing to put Yale ahead. Munzer added another jumper off her own defensive rebound to cap the run at 8-0. Each side added late free throws as Yale took a 34-29 lead into the locker room.
At the start of the third, Yale's hot three-point shooting continued as the Bulldogs used a McIntyre three to build the advantage to 39-31, later leading 41-33.
The defense and play in the paint assisted UAlbany's comeback, and steals by Saunders and Carter helped fuel an 8-0 Great Danes run over a span of three minutes to lead to a tie game.
The lead did not stay that way for long as each side continued to trade. Yale kept going inside to Sarju for layups while Richards and Saunders hit layups and free throws the other way. The sides battled to a stalemate 53-53 going into the final quarter.
Mary Ann Santucci hit a three off a turnover in the opening minute of the fourth for Yale, then UAlbany countered with a Saunders jumpers and Cassandra Edwards hitting two free throws. At 62-60 with 6:33 left, neither side scored for over two minutes, with a Wyckoff jumper tying the game again. A Richards jumper was countered quickly by two Wyckoff free throws.
UAlbany built back the lead with layups from Richards and Saunders in a span of 33 seconds for a 68-64 advantage. Santucci hit a three off a steal to pull Yale back within one at 68-67 with 2:31 left.
UAlbany's defense held Yale off the scoreboard for the next 2:10, using points from Tate and Saunders to push the advantage to 73-67. Sarju hit a late layup, but UAlbany held a two-possession lead the rest of the way and walked away with a 74-70 victory.
UAlbany begins its defense of the America East title next week, taking on UMBC in Baltimore on Wednesday, January 6th at 7 p.m.
