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ALBANY, N.Y. –
The University at Albany women’s basketball team claimed its second-straight
America East title with a, 61-52, win over No. 2 seed University of Hartford in
the 2013 America East championship game on Saturday night at SEFCU Arena in
Albany, N.Y.
The Great Danes (27-3, 16-0) became just the fourth team in
America East history and the first since Maine in 1996 to go unbeaten in the
America East regular season and go on to win the conference tournament title.
Albany also
became just the fourth school in America East history to win both the men’s and
women’s titles in the same season. Northeastern accomplished the feat
three-straight years from 1985-87, while Boston U. did it in 1988 and Vermont
in 2010.
Megan Craig led
Albany with 16 points and seven rebounds and was named the tournament’s Most
Outstanding Player. She was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates
Ebone Henry, Lindsey Lowrie and Julie Forster. Hartford (21-11, 10-6) senior
Nikkia Smith also was named to the team.
The Great Danes
ended the game on a 9-0 run over the final 1:30, breaking a 52-52 tie and earning
the team’s second-straight trip to the NCAA tournament. The Great Danes
finished the game shooting 44.2-percent from the floor and held a 38-31
rebounding advantage over the Hawks.
Hartford ended the first half on a 10-1 run to turn an
eight-point deficit into a one-point lead over Albany at the break. The Hawks
shot 40-percent from the floor in the first half and had eight different players
get in the scoring column, led by six points each from Amber Bepko and Smith.
After Bepko’s four-point play with 16:29 left in the first
half gave the Hawks an 8-5 lead, Albany forced three-straight turnovers and
went on a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to take an 18-10 lead. The
stretch was capped by a 3-pointer from Lowrie, who was one of four Great Danes
to score in the first half. Forster also had eight points while Craig had six
and Shereesha Richards had three.
The Albany lead hovered between four and six for much of the
half, but the Hawks held the Great Danes without a field goal for the 6:41 of
the frame to make their run. Shanise Bultron hit the two big shots for
Hartford, knocking down a pull-up jumper to cut the deficit to one and then
making the go-ahead field goal with 48 seconds left in the half. It was the
first lead for Hartford since the 16:29 mark.
The Hawks led by
as many as four points in the second half, including as late as 9:30 remaining
in the game following a jumper by Smith that made it 40-36. Smith led all
scorers with 18 points in the contest.
The Great Danes
responded with a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the second half at 46-40
with just over seven minutes to play. Henry scored her first two baskets of the
game during the run, including the go-ahead layup.
Smith kept the
Hawks in the game, scoring six of the team’s next 12 points. With Albany
leading by four points with under three minutes to play, freshman Katie Roth
hit a jumper and Smith hit the game-tying layup with 1:30 remaining, knotting the
game at 52 apiece.
The Great Danes
took control from there, scoring the final nine points of the contest. Point
guard Sarah Royals scored what proved to be the game-winning bucket, driving
the middle of the lane for a layup with just than a minute and a half to play.
On the ensuing
possession, Craig forced a clutch turnover with a steal, and followed that with
a layup on the other end to extend the lead to four points.
Smith would miss
a jumper on the next possession for Hartford and Richards pulled down the
rebound for the Great Danes. Albany hit four of its final five free throws to
close out the game.
Albany has won 28-straight games over America East opponents
dating back to last season, and are the first No. 1 seed to win the America
East title since 2008. The Great Danes are only the fourth team since 2002 to
win both the conference regular season and tournament titles.