UAlbany WBB Earns Share of America East Regular Season Title, Defeats Vermont 76-48 on Senior Day
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ALBANY, N.Y. – The UAlbany women's basketball team defeated Vermont 76-48 on Senior Day, earning a share of the 2015 America East regular season title.
It is the third-consecutive year that UAlbany (21-8, 14-2 AE) has earned at least a piece of the America East regular season title. In those three years, the Great Danes went a combined 45-3 in America East play.
UAlbany, sharing the regular season title with Maine after the Black Bears fell at UNH today, will be the 2-seed in the upcoming America East Tournament in Vestal. Maine, also at 14-2 in-conference, got the tiebreaker for sweeping 3-seed Stony Brook, while UAlbany went 1-1 against the Seawolves.
Up by eight with 15 minutes left to play, UAlbany used a 27-9 streak against Vermont (5-23, 2-14 AE) in the next 10 minutes to secure the game.
“I think we were a little too hyped up at the beginning of the game offensively,” said UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “We were really trying to push in transition and we had tons of turnovers. At halftime, I said calm down; we really needed to box out and just take care of the ball.”
2-seed UAlbany will play 7-seed Vermont for the first round of the America East Tournament on March 7th at 6 p.m. at the Events Center in Vestal on ESPN3. The winner plays the victor of 3-seed Stony Brook and 6-seed UMBC.
After the game, UAlbany honored the careers of its seniors: Sarah Royals, Margarita Rosario and manager Aquasia Thornhill.
Four UAlbany players scored in double digits, led by a near double-double by Imani Tate, who tallied 27 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Shereesha Richards finished with 16 points, her 29th-consecutive double digit scoring game, six rebounds and four steals. Zakiya Saunders concluded with 12 points and six assists off the bench while Royals got 11 points and four steals.
“When we buckled down on defense and played our principles they didn't score,” said Royals. “When we let up, that's when they started to score. It's going to be all about defense because that's what creates our offense.”
For Vermont, Sydney Smith scored 20 points, shooting 5-8 from three-point range. Niki Taylor had seven points.
Following a Smith three-pointer to open the game, UAlbany went on a 7-0 run, including baskets by three different players, over the next four-and-a-half minutes to lead 7-3. The teams exchanged a pair of layups each to make it 11-7 UAlbany with 13:46 left in the 1st.
Started by a pair of Rosario free throws, a 7-0 UAlbany run was capped by five-straight points by Tate. Later, the guards kept scoring as more Rosario free throws pushed the home team's lead to 26-13 with 6:26 remaining in the half.
Vermont scored a quick couple of baskets in the closing minutes of the half to pull within six. After Tate hit a jumper on the second chance, UAlbany held off a barrage of Vermont three-point shots to take a 30-22 lead into halftime.
Royals and Smith exchanged points in the opening minutes of the second half. UAlbany made the lead 10 points off a Royals jumper, which Vermont got back to within eight off Kylie Butler free throws to make it 38-30, later 40-32 UAlbany.
With 14:49 left, a Tate layup started a 7-0 run over the next 2:25. Following a Taylor layup, Saunders scored a jumper in transition, later going fast again and drawing contact for two free throws. Richards added a free throw to make 52-34 with 9:40 remaining.
At 54-41 UAlbany, the Great Danes essentially closed out the game with a 13-0 run in a span of three minutes, started by a Rosario wing three and continued with points from Saunders, Tate and Richards. UAlbany led 67-41 with 5:14 left in the second half.
UAlbany brought in its reserves towards the end of the game. Bose Aiyalogbe hit a layup and one in the closing seconds as the Great Danes took the victory 76-48.
