The Albany Great Danes held the Maine Black Bears to just 28% shooting on Thursday night, and took over sole possession of first place in America East with a 54-47 women’s basketball win at the Broadview Center in Albany, New York.
Maine never lead in the game. The Black Bears started 2-15 from the field, and Albany built as much as a nine point first half lead on a turnaround jumper in the paint by Kayla Cooper early in the second quarter. The Great Danes took a 26-19 advantage to the break. They extended that to 35-25 with 5:50 to go in the third on a conventional three-point play by Sarah Karpell. The guests didn’t allow them to score though the rest of the period, as a three-pointer by Olivia Rockwood and six straight points from Adrianna Smith pulled Maine within 35-34 heading to the fourth. Despite being within one possession on several occasions in the final 10 minutes, Maine was unable to get over the hump and get the big shot they needed to take over the lead. The key play happened with 2:48 left when Karpell missed the second of two free throws, but Deja Evans grabbed the offensive rebound for Albany and kicked to a wide open Lilly Phillips for a three-pointer that extended a three point lead to six and kept the Great Danes unbeaten in America East play.
Maine was led by Smith who finished with another double double with 17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. She entered the night third in the country in double doubles on the season. Caroline Bornemann added nine points and five rebounds, while Anne Simon, Sarah Talon, and Olivia Rockwood chipped in six points a piece. Simon also had 10 rebounds, as the Black Bears had their five game win streak snapped falling to 12-8 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The two leading scorers Smith and Simon combined to go 11-35 (31%). Evans had 17 points and eight rebounds for Albany. Karpell and Cooper also got into double figures with 14 and 10 points respectively. The Great Danes are now 17-2 and 6-0 in America East. Maine travels to Binghamton on Saturday to take on the Bearcats at 2 p.m.
Recap by Chris Lessner
Maine guard Anne Simon looks to make an inbounds pass in a game earlier this season in Orono. The Black Bears were beaten by the Albany Great Danes 54-47 in New York Thursday night. Photo by Chris Lessner
