UAlbany Women's Basketball Holds UMBC to 22.2% Shooting to Open League Play with 77-42 Road Win
Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
Postgame Interviews - Coach Abe | Imani Tate | Erin Coughlin
BALTIMORE – The UAlbany women's basketball team held UMBC to 22.2% shooting with four Great Danes earning double figures in a conference-opening 77-42 road win on Wednesday night in Baltimore.
UAlbany (10-3, 1-0 AE) led wire-to-wire against UMBC (10-5, 1-1 AE) and held the Retrievers to 12 points or less in three of four quarters. The Great Danes rebounded the Retrievers 54-29 and did not allow a double-digit point scorer.
“We did a great job defensively keying on their go-to players,” said UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “[Taylor McCarley] does a great job getting into the paint and drawing fouls, and Erin Coughlin played unbelievable defense against her. Offensively, we had a lot of double-figure scorers, and that is how we have to play.”
Imani Tate scored 18 points off the bench, adding nine rebounds and a pair of steals to help UAlbany win its America East opener for the sixth year in a row.
“We keyed in on their three-point shooters, and even though we gave up a few, we made it a team effort and we all played defense well,” said Tate.
Shereesha Richards earned her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Now with 1,977 career points, Richards now stands 10th all-time in scoring in America East women's basketball history.
Erin Coughlin hit four three-pointers to tie her season high 12 points with four assists while Zakiya Saunders almost had a triple-double with 11 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.
For UMBC, Pandora Wilson and Taylor McCarley each had nine points, with the latter adding three assists. Chukwuma Chiamaka finished with four points and nine rebounds.
UAlbany's guards led the offense against the packed zone of UMBC. Coughlin hit a pair of threes in a game-opening 8-0 run for UAlbany. After Laura Castaldo stopped the run with a three, Richards added a three, then Saunders hit the jumper off the turnover to build the lead to 13-3 in the first five minutes.
The three-point shots continued to fall as Coughlin added another from the wing. Tate came in later and helped with a couple of jumpers, with Heather Forster hitting a putback. UAlbany had a 24-12 lead after the first quarter.
With Richards sidelined due to foul trouble, Saunders and Tate hit jumpers while the defense held UMBC without points for nearly five minutes. UMBC continued to fire away from three with Taylor McCarley running the floor, as the home team pulled to within 12 with 2:12 left in the half.
Tate got a couple of chances in the final minute of the half, hitting a putback layup then a pair of free throws to build UAlbany's advantage to 35-19 at the end of the second quarter.
Both offenses got off to a strong start in the second half as each side kept hitting baskets inside the perimeter. Tate, Richards and Forster kept countering shots by McCarley and Wilson as UAlbany held a 44-31 lead after four-and-a-half minutes in the 3rd.
With points from three different players, UAlbany went on a pair of 6-0 runs, each sparked from Forster layups and fueled by jumpers from Tate. Richards hit a couple of late free throws to give UAlbany a 59-35 lead after three quarters.
UAlbany's zone defense stifled UMBC as the Great Danes kept going to the paint. Richards, Bose Aiyalogbe and Tiana-Jo Carter put together an 11-2 run to open the quarter over the first five minutes. Coughlin added another three minutes later as UAlbany led 73-37 with 3:23 left.
In the fourth quarter, UAlbany allowed just two UMBC baskets.
In the final minutes, Troy-native Aubrey Hernandez entered the game. After drawing a charge on defense, Hernandez hit a basket on the line from the wing for her first collegiate points. UAlbany took the 77-42 victory in Baltimore.
UAlbany will have its conference home opener on Saturday, January 9th, hosting Vermont at 2 p.m. at the SEFCU Arena.
