Vermont Dominates Albany, Advances to
America East Semifinals
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Second-seeded
Vermont dominated Albany on the defensive end Friday afternoon at the Chase
Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion, routing the seventh-seeded Great
Danes, 61-36, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 America East Championship
Presented by Newman's Own.
The Catamounts (24-6, 13-3 America East
Conference) limited Albany (11-19, 4-12 AE) to just 16.9 percent shooting from
the field on the game, the lowest percentage in the history of the America East
Championship.
The Great Danes' 36 points matched their
lowest scoring output of 2010.
Vermont, who is defending its America East
title, played like a team on a mission.
"We're not looking to end our season anytime
soon," said Vermont senior guard May Kotsopoulos, who scored 15 points for the
Catamounts. "We're looking to get back
to the championship game, get that win, and go back to the NCAA tournament.
Vermont held a significant advantage down
low over Albany. The Catamounts
outrebounded the Great Danes by a 56-34 margin, and scored 26 points in the
paint to Albany's four.
"Unfortunately, we ran into a brick wall
today," said Albany head coach Trina Patterson. "Size mattered today, and the
physical nature of the game really disturbed our offense."
Senior center Alissa Sheftic had her best
performance of the season for the Catamounts, posting a season-high 18 points
and 11 rebounds for her second double-double on the year.
"She's playing the best ball of her career,"
Vermont head coach Sharon Dawley said.
"We need to keep getting her involved."
Vermont held Albany scoreless from the
field for nearly the first nine minutes of the game, allowing the Catamounts to
take a 16-3 lead.
The Great Danes cut into the lead, trailing
by only seven with 2:47 to go in the half, but the Catamounts went on a 5-0 run
to take a 12-point lead into the break.
Vermont would continue their run into the
second half, forcing Albany to miss their first 17 shots after halftime, and taking
a 44-24 lead.
The Great Danes would not come closer than
17 the rest of the way.
The Great Danes were led in defeat by
senior guard Charity Iromuanya, who scored a team-high 11 points.
Vermont will face
third-seeded Boston University in the America East
Championship semifinals Sunday at 11 a.m.
Young leads Boston University over UMBC in
America East Quarters
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Alex Young scored a
game-high 23 points Friday afternoon to lead third-seeded Boston University to
a 60-49 victory over sixth-seeded UMBC at Chase Family Arena at the Reich
Family Pavilion in the 2010 America East Championship Presented by Newman's
Own.
The sophomore guard was 9-of-6 from the
field and hit four threes on her way to her tenth straight game in double
figures.
Terrier freshman guard Chantell Howard
added 13 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double, and
sophomore forward Caroline Stewart had a career-high 15 boards in the first win
for the Terriers (16-13, 11-5 America East Conference) in three tries this
season over UMBC (13-17, 7-9 AE).
"Going into the game knowing that we lost
to this team twice in the regular season really helped us," Boston U. head
coach Kelly Greenberg said.
"We tried to make things as difficult as
possible for them, and in the long run, I think we did that pretty well."
The turning point in the game came after
the final media timeout of the first half.
Up only two with 2:57 left in the period, the Terriers made a defensive
stop and proceeded to go on an 8-0 run to close the half.
UMBC wouldn't come any closer than eight
the entire rest of the way.
"We were talking in the huddle about how we
could be up four at the half, and then the reverse happened," said Retriever
senior guard Carlee Cassidy. "That
definitely had a big effect on the game."
Cassidy contributed a team-high 18 points
for UMBC in a losing effort.
Boston University will face Vermont, the
second seed in the America East Championship, in a semifinal matchup Sunday at
11 a.m.