ALBANY, N.Y. - A matchup that has turned into a rivalry will close the 2015 America East Women's Basketball Championship, as the second-seeded Albany Great Danes and fifth-seeded Hartford Hawks meet to decide the tournament title on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at University at Albany's SEFCU Arena.
The game features a matchup of two of the top programs in the conference. Albany is in search of its fourth-straight America East title and has lost just five conference contests over the last four years. Meanwhile, Hartford has been a model of consistency over the past decade and is playing in the final for the eighth time in 11 years. The Hawks have won five conference championships, all coming since 2002.
For the second-straight year, the women's title game will air on ESPNU as Eric Frede and Sue Bird will have the call. Here are notes on the teams and the matchup:
No. 2 Albany Great Danes
- Earned at-least a share of America East regular-seasons title for third-straight season, becoming the 6th team in America East history to win three-straight titles.
- 70 total points allowed combined in the quarterfinals and semifinals was an America East tournament record.
- Albany is looking to become just the second team in America East history to win 4-straight titles, joining Maine from 1994-98.
- The Great Danes are 59-5 over the last four seasons in conference play.
- Katie Abrahamson-Henderson is only the 3rd head coach in league history to win three-straight titles. She is 68-12 in conference play in her first four seasons at Albany
- Shereesha Richards finished with the highest scoring average in conference play (23.1 ppg) since Maine's Cindy Blodgett in 1997-98.
No. 5 Hartford Hawks
- The Hawks have the third-most titles in America east history, winning five under head coach Jennifer Rizzotti.
- Hartford has played in four of the last six finals and 10 of the last 11 semifinals.
- The Hawks have appeared in the postseason in nine of the last ten years.
- Head coach Jennifer Rizzotti is the winningest coach in America East regular-season and tournament history. She has over 300 totals wins and 175 conference wins to go with 26 tournament victories.
- A staple of the Hawks has been a balanced atttack and this season seven rotation players are averaging better than 12 minutes per game.
- Sophomore guard Deanna Mayza is second in the conference with 5.2 assists per game. Her nine assists vs. UNH tied a quarterfinal record.
- Hartford is second in the league in 3-point shooting, hitting 31.5 percent from downtown.
The Matchup
- Hartford and Albany will meet in the title game for the second time in three years, with the Great Danes taking the meeting in 2013 at SEFCU Arena, 61-52.
- It is the fourth time in the last five years the two teams will meet in the America East tournament with Albany winning two of those three contests including the 2013 title game and a 2014 semifinal game.
- This is the seventh meeting all-time in the tournament between the two teams with each program winning three apiece. It is the second time they will meet in the final.
- Albany has won eight-straight in the overall series with Hartford's last win coming on Jan. 28, 2012. That was a 65-57 win at SEFCU Arena.
High-Seed Hosts
- This is the 6th-straight year the high seed will host the America East final and the 25th time in conference history. Four times the title game has been played on a neutral court.
- Home teams have won three-straight titles, all by Albany who will host the final for the fourth-straight season.
- All-time, home teams are 20-4 in the America East title game. The last visitor to win the final was Hartford in 2011 over Boston U.
No. 5 Seed History
- The No. 5 seed will make its third appearance in the title game as the Hawks upset No. 4 New Hampshire and No. 1 Maine.
- Hartford is the only program to win a tournament title out of the No. 5 slot, beating No. 7 Stony Brook in the 2002 title game. It was the first championship for Hartford.
- UMBC also appeaed in the title game in 2012 as a No. 5 seed.
No. 2 Seed History
- The No. 2 seed will make its 19th appearance in the finals and looking for its sixth title.
- The second seed is appearing in its sixth-straight title game and has won three times in five years. No. 2 seeds won three-straight titles from 2010-12 after losing in back-to-back finals to the No. 1 seed.
Upset Specials
- Although the higher-seeded teams have won 167 of 217 all-time Amercica East tournament games, over the last four seasons upsets have become more common.
- Lower seeds are 9-18 over the last four seasons entering the 2015 title game, with the No. 5 seed winning at-least one game in four-straight seasons. The five seed has also now advanced to two of the last four title games.
- The No. 6 seeed has upset the No. 3 seed in three of the last four years, including UMBC beating Stony Brook this season.