UAlbany Women's Basketball Wins Eighth Straight Game with 85-55 Victory at UMass Lowell
Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
Postgame Interviews - Coach Abe | Imani Tate | Zakiya Saunders
LOWELL, Mass. – Battling an America East squad plus thousands of kids on Education Day, the UAlbany women's basketball team, led by a dominating press, defeated UMass Lowell 85-55 to earn its eighth consecutive victory.
UAlbany (16-3, 7-0 AE) used a 24-0 run during the second and third quarters to break away from good against UMass Lowell (3-17, 0-8 AE). UAlbany's full court press and half court traps earned the team 15 steals off 27 UMass Lowell turnovers. The Great Danes shot 50.7% from the field and outrebounded UMass Lowell 36-21.
“We wanted to make sure we wore them out with the press,” said UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “We knew they were a great three-point shooting team, and Lindsey Doucette is a great player for them, and we wanted to try to keep the ball out of her hands as much as possible, so we wanted to press them.
Three UAlbany players earned at least 17 points with ten Great Danes hitting at least one field goal. Shereesha Richards earned her 100th-career double digit scoring game with 23 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Imani Tate notched 20 points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds while Zakiya Saunders shot 7-10 from the field and finished with 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
“We are a defensive team, and defense is our offense,” said Tate. “We had to pressure them to make them turn the ball over.”
“We just had to go out there and focus on our game,” said Saunders. “We just tried to pressure them, get turnovers and keep our energy going.”
For UMass Lowell, Nicole Hayner shot 8-15 from the floor for 23 points. Melissa Frase nearly had a double-double on nine points and eight assists while Doucette got 11 points despite seven turnovers.
Down 5-2 after UML made its first two shots, UAlbany used the half court press and countered with a 7-0 run, including two baskets from Erin Coughlin, to take an early 9-5 lead. The home team kept shooting from the mid-range and hit two baskets to tie the game at nine through four-and-a-half minutes.
UAlbany's full-court press caused three steals against UML in the first quarter. Tiana-Jo Carter began the next run with two layups, including an offensive rebound and turnaround putback. Following a Hayner layup, Tate scored the next three baskets, including a baseline drive and shot off the window, to cap a 10-2 run and give UAlbany a 19-11 lead after one.
Saunders took up the scoring mantle at the start of the second, scoring five points in a row to build UAlbany's lead to 10. After a couple of exchanges, UAlbany led 26-17.
After a Tate jumper, the full court press struck three times in a row against the River Hawks. Tate stole the ball and rolled it to an open Bose Aiyalogbe for the layup. Richards stole the next one at halfcourt and passed to an open Tate for the score. The next play, Heather Forster caught a home run pass from UML, getting the layup the other way.
The full court press and zone defense continued to stifle UML as UAlbany held its opponent without points for the last 6:41 of the second. Richards added two layups as the UAlbany run went to 15-0 by quarter's end, taking a 41-17 lead into the locker room.
UAlbany continued to attack with the press, leading Cassandra Edwards to earn a pair of steals. The transition strikes helped fuel the run to 24-0 as UAlbany led 50-17 with 8:05 left in the 3rd.
After Kayla Gibbs broke the run with a layup, the sides began to exchange baskets with both shooting outside of the paint. Hayner led UML with threes while Tate and Saunders scored from the mid-range. A Richards layup after a Tate steal near half court made it 61-30 with 3:15 left in the 3rd.
A 7-0 UML run pulled the home team to within 24. After a timeout, UAlbany's press again took hold, leading to Richards fueling a quarter ending 8-0 run for UAlbany. The Great Danes led 69-37 after three.
UAlbany added to the run with more points from Richards and Tate, capping it at 12-0. At the under five-minute mark, UAlbany's reserves started to come in and finish the game. Forster, Veronika Lavergne and Bailey Hixson all hit late baskets as UAlbany took the 85-55 victory.
UAlbany's next game will also be on the road as the Great Danes take on Hartford on January 31st at 2 p.m. on ESPN3.
