ALBANY, N.Y. – Lindsey Lowrie
scored a game-high 18 points, while Julie Forster recorded her 30th
career double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds, leading top-seeded UAlbany to
a 71-57 win over New Hampshire in the second America East Conference Women’s
Basketball Semifinal on Sunday afternoon at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes, who
improve to 26-3 on the season, advance to their second straight league
championship game, and will face second-seeded Hartford on Saturday, March 16,
at 7 p.m. at SEFCU Arena.
New Hampshire scored first to start the
game, getting a bucket from Cari Reed, but the Great Danes scored seven straight
points, including four from Lowrie, giving the Great Danes a 7-4 advantage at
the first media timeout of the half, with 15:19 to play. UAlbany got a steal
from Ebone Henry, which turned into two more points from Lowrie with just over
12 minutes to play in the first half, pushing the Great Dane advantage to
11-6.
New Hampshire got a 3-pointer from Reed and
a bucket in the paint from Morgan Frame to pull within 14-13 with 9:45 to play
in the first, prompting UAlbany to take a timeout. Forster responded with a
jumper, but New Hampshire got back-to-back buckets to take a 17-16 lead with
8:30 to play. The Great Danes regained a one-point advantage with two free
throws by Sarah Royals, but Kaylee Fitzpatrick responded with a basket to give
the Wildcats back the lead, 19-18, just before the under-eight minute media
timeout at 7:41.
Fitzpatrick’s bucket kicked off a 5-2 run
for the Wildcats, who held a 24-20 lead over the top-ranked Great Danes with
3:51 to play in the first half. Lowrie nailed a long three from the left side
of the arc after the media timeout to pull UAlbany back to within one. Forster
then recorded a steal and drew a hard foul under the basket, hitting one-of-two
free throws to tie the game at 24-24 with 2:40 to play. Another defensive stop
and basket by Megan Craig gave the Great Danes their first lead since the 8:15
mark. Reed ended the 10-0 UAlbany run with 35 seconds to play, but the Great
Danes came up with another defensive stop to hold a 32-26 lead at the halftime
break.
New Hampshire scored the first points of the
second half, but Henry sank two free throws to maintain UAlbany’s six-point
lead. The Great Danes used strong shooting from the charity stripe to continue
to hold onto their lead, and led the Wildcats, 38-31 at the first media timeout
of the half at 15:12. With a long 3-pointer from Lowrie at 14:25, UAlbany opened
up its largest lead of the game, 41-31, and extended that by two after a
turnover on the defensive end and a basket by Shereesha Richards on the ensuing
possession.
The teams exchanged points over the next
four minutes, with UAlbany maintaining its 12-point lead, 51-39, on two free
throws by Henry at 9:34. However, some miscues by the Great Danes allowed New
Hampshire to cut into the deficit, pulling back to within eight, 52-44, with
6:30 to play. A layup by Kaylee Kilpatrick and a 3-pointer from Kelsey Hogan
extended the Wildcat run to 10-0, and pulled New Hampshire to within 52-49 with
5:35 to play, prompting a timeout from the Great Danes. Henry, who had all of
her points from the free throw line in the game, finally connected on a layup at
5:02 to get the Great Danes back into the scoring column.
The Great Danes extended their lead back to
ten, 65-55, with under a minute to go, as Henry lobbed an outlet pass to
Richards, who was fouled by Frame on the made basket. The foul was ruled
flagrant, and Richards made one-of-two from the line. Lowrie then hit four free
throws to close out the scoring and set the final score.
UAlbany also got double-figure scoring
totals from Henry with 13, and Richards with 11. New Hampshire outshot the Great
Danes, connecting on 44.0 percent (22-50) of their shots. However, UAlbany
scored 20 points off turnovers, as the Wildcats gave up the ball 20
times.
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