UAlbany Women's Basketball Will Face New Hampshire in America East Semifinals on Sunday

THE STARTING FIVE 1. The Game UAlbany hosts New Hampshire in the America East Conference semifinals. The Great Danes, who were the regular season champions for the first time in program history, ended the regular season as the lone undefeated team in league play. UAlbany swept the Wildcats in the season series, posting a 78-43 rout in Albany before recording a 55-46 comeback victory in Durham. 2. Scouting UAlbany The Great Danes stand at 25-3 on the season with an unblemished 16-0 league record, after posting a 60-49 win over Stony Brook in the regular-season finale. UAlbany has now won 17 straight, and is defeating America East opponents by 24.7 points. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year and 2013 Co-Player of the Year Ebone Henry has continued to show why she has earned that title, as she has recorded a team-high 78 steals - including a season-high eight against BU - while also scoring at a team-best 14.3 clip. Julie Forster is pulling down a team-best 8.1 caroms per game, while also chipping in with 9.3 points. The Great Danes have a quartet of players averaging double-digit scoring totals, led by Henry, and followed by Megan Craig (10.5), Lindsey Lowrie (10.1), and Shereesha Richards (10.1). 5. Bringing Home the Hardware The Great Danes cleaned house at the 2013 America East Conference Awards Reception, held on Thursday evening. Senior Ebone Henry earned her third straight Defensive Player of the Year honor, and was also named Co-Player of the Year along with Boston U.’s Chantell Alford. Joining Henry on the First Team & All-Defensive Team is senior Julie Forster, who also earned All-Academic Team honors. Shereesha Richards took home Co-Rookie of the Year accolades, sharing the award with Maine’s Liz Wood, while Megan Craig and Lindsey Lowrie were named to the All-Conference Third Team. Great Dane mentor Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was a unanimous selection as Coach of the Year after guiding UAlbany to just the 7th undefeated league slate in America East history. 3. Making National News Not only are the Great Danes tops in the America East, they are also making a splash in the national statistics. As of the last release of the national stats on Friday, UAlbany is ranked in the top 15 in eight categories - with their lowest ranking being 13th (3-point percentage - 36.5 & winning percentage - 89.3). The Great Danes, in fact, are third in scoring defense (48.6) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (32.7). UAlbany is also seventh in rebound margin (+10.7), tenth in field goal percentage (45.1) and scoring margin (+18.9) and 12th in steals (12.0). Individually, Lindsey Lowrie is ninth nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (42.7). 4. Best of the Best The senior duo of Ebone Henry and Julie Forster have made indelible marks on the UAlbany women’s basketball program. Henry scored 21 points against Vermont to become the all-time leading scorer in school history, breaking a record that stood for 27 years. With nine boards against UMBC, Forster became the first player in program history to record 1,000 rebounds, and then netted 10 points against Binghamton to score her 1,000th career point. Henry is also 4th in career rebounds (748) and is second in steals (306).