ALBANY, N.Y. - The 2013 America East Women's Basketball Championship semifinals are set for Sunday, as No. 2 seed Hartford faces No. 6 Vermont at 11 a.m. followed by No. 1 Albany against No. 5 New Hampshire 30 minutes following the first game.
No. 2 Hartford secured its seventh 20-win season in program history and moved on to the semifinals for the eighth time in nine years with a 68-53 win over No. 7 Binghamton. Katie Roth led the Hawks with 15 points, while Daphne Elliott added 11. Hartford led by 10 at halftime, but Binghamton cut the deficit to five with 16:24 remaining. The Hawks used an 11-2 run, capped by an Amber Bepko 3-pointer to take control of the contest with a 45-31 advantage. The Hawks shot 45.1 percent from the floor for the game and 15-of-18 from the free throw line.
Lauren Wheeler hit a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in regulation to break a 43-43 tie and send No. 6 Vermont to the semifinals with a 47-43 win over No. 3 UMBC. UMBC’s Raven Harris then missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and Kristin Coles had the offensive rebound stolen away by Vermont’s Niki Taylor. The Retreivers gave a quick foul, and Annie Wheeler hit one-of-two free throws to seal the game. Lauren Wheeler finished with a game-high 10 points and helped the Catamounts reach their first semifinal under head coach Lori Gear-McBride.
The Hawks defeated the Catamounts twice during the regular season by a 60-51 score on Jan. 30 in Burlington and then most recently by a 59-33 score in the regular season finale on March 2 in Hartford. The Hawks are now 5-1 as a No. 2 seed and 24-18 overall in championship play, with 22 of those wins coming since 2002. Vermont advanced to its America East record 18th semifinal and has a 35-17 overall record in championship play. The Catamounts are 11-7 in the semifinals while Hartford is 7-4. The teams have met five times in championship competition, with Vermont holding a 4-1 advantage. The Catamounts defeated Hartford in the 2010 championship game which was the last meeting between the two squads. Two of those match-ups have come in the semifinals, with Vermont winning in 2009 and Hartford winning in 2002.
With the game tied at 46, New Hampshire senior guard Kelsey Hogan buried a 3-pointer as time expired to send the No. 5 Wildcats to a 49-46 win over No. 4 Stony Brook. New Hampshire makes its first trip to the semifinal round since 2005 and looks to reach the championship game for the first time in program history. Hogan finished with a team-high 13 points while Morgan Frame had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. After leading by just one at halftime, New Hampshire pushed the advantage to as much as 10 points following a 7-0 run that was capped by a Hogan jumper with 8:08 remaining. The Seawolves scratched and clawed their way back in the game, finally drawing even with a Sabre Proctor layup that finished a 12-2 run with 2:03 remaining. Proctor had a double-double 12 points and 12 boards, while Brittany Snow had a game-high 15 points. Wildcats head coach Maureen Magarity got her first win in the championship as a head coach in the contest. The Wildcats have defeated the Seawolves in three-straight games in the America East Championship.
The No. 1 seed University at Albany had a bye to the semifinals as the University of Maine did not participate in the 2013 championship following a bus accident on Feb. 26. Albany looks to become the first team since Maine in 1996 to go undefeated in the regular-season and go on to win the America East Championship title. Albany has won 18-straight games this season and 27-straight against America East opponents dating back to last season. The Great Danes have held opponents to 48.6 points per game this season, which ranks third in the nation and is the best in America East Conference history.
The Great Danes defeated the Bearcats twice during the regular season by a score of 78-43 on Jan. 16 and most recently by a final of 55-46 in Durham on Feb. 27. In the second meeting, the Wildcats held a 12-point halftime lead before the Great Danes outscored New Hampshire 37-16 in the second half. It is just the third meeting in championship play between the two schools with each team winning once. The Great Danes defeated the Wildcats in the 2007 first round, which was the last meeting in tournament play, and New Hampshire beat Albany in the 2005 quarterfinals, which was the last semifinal trip for the Wildcats prior to this season. Last year, UMBC become the second No. 5 seed in tournament history to upset a No. 1 seed. Overall, the No. 1 seed is 4-2 against the No. 5 seed.
With New Hampshire and Vermont defeating the higher-seeded teams in the quarterfinals, this is the second-straight year, and fifth time overall, which a No. 5 and No. 6 team advanced to the semifinals. Prior to last season, it had not happened since 1995. It also happened in 1995.
Based on past history, the odds appear low that either or both the lower seeded teams will advance past the semifinals. A No. 5 team has appeared in the title game just twice, including UMBC last season and Hartford in 2002, which went on to win the title. The No. 6 seed has never won the title.
Should the seeds hold true in the semifinals and No. 1 Albany and No. 2 Hartford advance to the championship game on Saturday, March 16, it would be the 12th time in 28 championships which both of the top two seeds advanced. The last time it happened was the 2010 final against Hartford and Vermont. Only once since the tournament expanded from four teams has a final NOT featured either of the top two seeds. That was the 2002 final between No. 5 Hartford and No. 7 Stony Brook.
2013 America East Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU
at SEFCU Arena
Albany, N.Y.
Friday, March 8
Quarterfinals
#2 Hartford 68, #7 Vermont 53
#6 Vermont 47, #3 UMBC 43
#5 New Hampshire 49, #4 Stony Brook 46
Sunday, March 10
Semifinals
#2 Hartford vs. #6 Vermont (ESPN3) - 11 a.m.
#1 Albany vs. #5 New Hampshire (ESPN3) - 1:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 16
Championship Game
at the highest seed remaining
7 p.m. - ESPN3 / Fox College Sports