Despite 28 Points by Richards, UAlbany Women's Basketball Downed Late by Army 65-62
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WEST POINT, N.Y. – In a matchup of the highest-ranked mid-majors in New York, the UAlbany women's basketball team fell just one possession short in a 65-62 defeat to Army West Point on Saturday afternoon.
UAlbany (5-2) had an 11-point lead at the half and led by as many as 12 early in the third quarter against Army (6-1). The Black Knights used the press and strong three point shooting, going 11-17 from beyond the arc, to take an eight-point lead with 2:50 to go. UAlbany got the deficit down to three, but did not get closer.
“The second half, [Army] came out really well,” said UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “The second quarter, we held them to five points. That is the way our defense has to be all the time.”
Shereesha Richards had another career day, going 11-for-19 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line to finish with 28 points and six rebounds. With 1,825 points, she moves into 13th all-time in scoring in America East women's basketball history.
Aiding the effort for UAlbany was Zakiya Saunders, who tied a career-high 10 assists, adding seven points. Imani Tate concluded with 12 points and a pair of steals.
Jean Parker led Army with 20 points, going a perfect 6-for-6 from three-point range. Kelsey Minato got 16 points with four assists and three steals while Janae McNeal and Madison Hovren each had 10 points.
Richards led the attack for UAlbany with shots in the paint. Down 5-2 early, UAlbany took the lead on a couple of Richards layups, adding a Tate baseline jumper off a bounce pass from Saunders for an 8-4 advantage.
Both sides primarily played possessions with the full shot clock in the first quarter. UAlbany built a six-point advantage off Tate jumpers and a pair of Erin Coughlin threes to make it 16-10. Minato added a four-point play towards the end of the quarter as UAlbany took a 16-14 lead after one.
The UAlbany zone defense buckled down and forced steals in the paint and the halfcourt early in the second quarter. Sparked by a turnover floater by Veronika Lavergne, UAlbany allowed just one basket in a seven-minute span, using a 12-3 streak, including seven points from Richards.
In the second quarter, UAlbany held Army to just two field goals and took a 30-19 lead into halftime.
Army started to fire away from three as UAlbany kept its attack to the paint. Tate hit a putback layup and set up Richards for a fastbreak layup to increase the lead to 34-22 in the third quarter's opening minute.
Started by a Jean Parker three, Army took advantage of a couple of UAlbany turnovers for a 9-0 run to pull within three points at 34-31 Great Danes.
Lavergne hit a jumper to end Army's run. In a span of a minute, Army used the full court press and forced a number of turnovers, leading to a 9-0 run, capped by six points from Minato, to take a 41-36 advantage, later leading 44-38 after another Minato three.
UAlbany started to break the press with full court heaves from Saunders, leading to three baskets in a row to end the quarter. The final one, with 3.9 seconds left, saw Saunders find Richards, who hit a jumper against a 1-on-3, to give UAlbany a 45-44 lead after three quarters.
The early part of the fourth saw the teams trade the lead back and forth on baskets. A Daizjah Morris jumper in the paint put Army ahead 48-47 as both sides had missed shots in the next two-and-a-half minutes.
The hot three-point shooting continued for Army as Parker hit two more, putting the home team back ahead 54-49 with 4:30 left, later extending the lead to 56-49.
Tate tried to get UAlbany back in the game with field goals, which were countered by Army baskets. Coughlin hit a three with 1:21 left to pull UAlbany within five again. The teams exchanged some free throws as UAlbany tried to chip away. In the final seconds, UAlbany got a 4-0 run, capped by a Saunders three at the buzzer, but the effort was one possession short as UAlbany fell to Army 65-62.
UAlbany will play a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents on the road next week, starting with Fairfield on Wednesday, December 9th at 7 p.m.
