UAlbany Women’s Basketball Usurps Defending America East Champ Maine

KEY STATS

• Of the four Great Danes who tallied double-digit points, graduate student Kayla Cooper led the way with 14. Fellow graduate students Lilly Phillips and Jessica Tomasetti had 13 and 11, respectively, while senior Meghan Huerter added 11.
• Those four scorers were efficient as well – each one shot at least 50% from the field.
• Tomasetti led the team on the boards with nine rebounds; four of which were on the offensive glass.
• Cooper and Tomasetti combined for 10 of the Great Danes’ 12 assists with five each.
• In the fourth quarter alone, UAlbany shot 7-9 from the field, including 75% from behind the arc.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Black Bears began the game with eight points while holding UAlbany scoreless for nearly three minutes.
• Coming out of a timeout, Jessica Tomasetti started what proved to be a 7-0 scoring run with a three-pointer.
• Maine once again got ahead but two consecutive baskets, including a pull-up from Tomasetti with five seconds remaining, tied the score at 12 after the first quarter.
• Meghan Huerter opened the second with a three-pointer but the Black Bears answered by gradually building a seven-point lead, 25-18, throughout the first half of the quarter.
• UAlbany closed the scoring gap and tied it at 25 with baskets from Tomasetti, Huerter, and Lilly Phillips.
• Maine made the most of the next two and a half minutes and ended the first half up, 29-27.
• The third quarter started out much like the second – the Great Danes scored and then Maine went on a three-basket scoring run to gain a 37-29 advantage.
• Huerter and graduate student Kaci Donovan each notched a field goal to make it a three-point game with five minutes left in the quarter but the Black Bears finished out the quarter with the lead, 43-39.
• Ninety-six seconds into the final quarter, the Great Danes were behind by one point, 45-44.
• Two well-timed and momentum-changing three-pointers from Phillips and Tomasetti gave UAlbany a one-possession lead, 50-47.
• Maine re-took the lead, 51-50, after two field goals from Caroline Bornemann and Sera Hodgson.
• Kayla Cooper’s two- or three-person defense lightened up and she scored six points in just over three minutes. Along with two-point field goals from Phillips and Tomasetti, the Great Danes held a 60-53 advantage with just 17 seconds remaining.
• The Black Bears got the last say with a layup at 0:04 but that is all UAlbany’s defense allowed to win, 60-55.

NEXT:

The Great Danes will head on the road to face Bryant before returning home for their National Girls and Women in Sport Day contest against Binghamton (1/25).

CONCLUSION

The UAlbany women’s basketball team showed resilience and determination in their win over the defending America East champion Maine, with a balanced attack and an explosive fourth quarter propelling them to victory.

FAQs

Q: What was the final score of the game?
A: The final score was 60-55 in favor of UAlbany.

Q: Who led the Great Danes in scoring?
A: Graduate student Kayla Cooper led the way with 14 points.

Q: How many rebounds did Jessica Tomasetti collect?
A: Tomasetti led the team on the boards with nine rebounds, with four of those being on the offensive glass.