ORONO- Morgan Haney had a game high and career high 20 points on Friday evening, and the Albany Great Danes rode some hot first half shooting and a stingy defensive effort to capture the America East women’s basketball championship with a 56-47 win over the Maine Black Bears before a sellout crowd of 1,329 at Memorial Gymnasium.
Albany (23-9) never trailed once in the game. The Great Danes connected on four three-pointers in the opening 10 minutes and jumped out to a 20-12 advantage. Haney caught fire in the second quarter hitting three more from behind the arc (4-4 three-pointers, 16 points in the first half). The guests hit 7-10 overall from long range over the first 20 minutes and took a 34-24 lead to the locker room at the half.
Maine tightened up some defensively in the third quarter after falling behind by their largest deficit of 12. The Black Bears outscored Albany 8-4 in the period and got a late basket by Maeve Carroll to cut it to 38-32 headed to the fourth. The hosts in the end just simply couldn’t hit enough shots to come all the way back. Trailing 45-36 with 2:42 left, America East Player of the Year Anne Simon knocked down a jumper and then got a layup just seconds later after a steal by Olivia Rockwood to slice it to 45-40. After Ellen Hahne and Alba Orois both made one free throw each, Hahne put through the dagger by draining a three-pointer with 1:21 remaining to make it 49-41 and seal it. Maine (20-11) shot just 23.5% from the floor in the final quarter and just 37% in the game (3-13 three-pointers). The Bears, who had beaten the Great Danes twice in the regular season and 11 straight times overall, were seeking their first America East Championship since 2019 in their seventh straight trip to the title game. The loss ends a 14 game winning streak, but as regular season conference champions they have accepted an invite to compete in the WNIT with an announcement coming Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. on an opponent, date, time, and location.
Simon finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and two steals to lead Maine in the loss. Caroline Bornemann added 13 points and six rebounds. Carroll shot just 3-14 from the floor and ended up with nine points, nine rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. Alba Orois chipped in seven points, four assists, and two steals. Haney, who came in averaging 6.0 points per game, finished 6-14 from the field (4-6 three-pointers) and added three rebounds to her point total. Hahne contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, while Kayla Cooper had eight points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Albany wins their first America East Championship since 2017 and will await word on where they’re headed for a first round NCAA Tournament game when the selections are made on Sunday night.
Cooper was named Most Outstanding Player of the America East Tournament. Hahne also joined Cooper, Emma Utterback from Vermont, along with Bornemann and Carroll from Maine on the All-Tournament Team.
ALB 20 14 4 18- 56
UME 12 12 8 15- 47
