The Maine Black Bears would rally from a 10 point second half deficit to tie it in the fourth quarter, but the Albany Great Danes got 23 points from Kayla Cooper and made just enough plays down the stretch to advance to the America East women’s basketball championship game with a 72-64 win in a semifinal matchup played at McDonough Gymnasium at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York on Sunday afternoon.
Maine would hold three leads of two points in a tight opening quarter, as Anne Simon had eight points and Adrianna Smith six and the game was tied 16-16 after 10 minutes. Albany would score six points in a row in the second to take the biggest lead either team had in the first half at 31-26 with 2:09 left. The Black Bears responded with a Sera Hodgson three point play and two free throws from Caroline Bornemann to knot things at 31-31. A driving layup by Kayla Cooper and a last second three-pointer by Fatima Lee gave the Great Danes their five point edge back 36-31 at the halftime break. Smith, who was named the America East Player of the Year, was limited to just seven minutes with two fouls.
A driving layup by Ellen Hahne and a three-pointer from Morgan Haney to start the third extended the run to 10-0 to make it 41-31 Albany. Maine got within four late in the period on a three-pointer by Olivia Rockwood, but another late shot by Lee pushed it back to six 55-49 heading to the fourth. The Black Bears battled back to tie it with a 10-2 run over a span of about four minutes in the final period, as a driving layup by Simon made it 59-59 with 5:06 left. The Great Danes took the lead for good on a Helene Haegerstrand jumper 27 seconds later. The big play came after Smith cut it to 65-64, as Hahne would answer by draining a three-pointer on the other end to increase the advantage back to four. Maine was scoreless the last 2:44 after the Smith hoop, and Albany hit a few free throws late to salt it away.
Simon led the #3 seed Maine in the loss with 23 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Smith finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Hodgson chipped in eight points, while both Bornemann and Rockwood had six points a piece. The Black Bears season ends with a record of 16-14. Cooper added five rebounds and four assists in the Albany victory. Hahne and Haegerstrand both had 13 points, with Haegerstrand also contributing seven rebounds. The #2 Great Danes shot 61.7% from the floor and 62.5% from the three-point arc (5-8). They improve to 22-10 and advance to their second straight America East Championship game as they head to Vermont to play the top seeded Catamounts on Friday at 5 p.m. Albany is the defending champion.
Recap/photo by Chris Lessner
Photo- Coach Amy Vachon talks to her team during a timeout in a game earlier this season at Memorial Gym in Orono
Box Score
UME (16-14) 16 15 18 15- 64
ULB (22-10) 16 20 19 17- 72
Rebounds- Maine 24, Albany 26
Free throws- Maine 6-8, Albany 9-11
Turnovers- Maine 6, Albany 10
Three-pointers- Maine: Simon 3, Rockwood 2, Hodgson/ Albany: Haney 2, Lee 2, Hahne
