UAlbany Women’s Basketball Improves to 4-0 After 71-49 Win Over Cal State Fullerton

ALBANY, N.Y. - Another career-night for Shereesha Richards, who earned 22 points and six boards, led UAlbany to a 71-49 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday night, improving the Great Danes to 4-0 to start the year.

 

“It was great to get a win in front of these fans,” says UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “This game, we moved Tammy Phillip up to the front, and we earned more steals.”
“The first half was a bit shaky, and we knew we had to step up our defense,” says Richards, who had a 20+ point contest for the third straight game. “We came out in the second half ready to run.”

Both sides shot well early, with UAlbany (4-0) focusing on attacking the paint and Fullerton looking for three-pointers. Down 10-8 early, Tammy Phillip scored a fastbreak layup and three off the screen to start a run. Sarah Royals continued the streak, scoring a pair of layups then hitting a free throw for 11 straight UAlbany points, putting the home team up 19-10 with 11:30 left in the first.

As the game sped up, CSUF’s (0-3) Kathleen Iwuoha hit a jumper, followed by Shereesha Richards countering on a fastbreak layup. Iwuoha went the other way and hit a jumper, while Richards again scored a layup in response. After a stop, Erin Coughlin buried a wing three to give UAlbany a 28-17 advantage.
Following a couple of made shots by the Titans, UAlbany held its opponent without a basket for the final 4:46 of the half. Capped by another fastbreak layup from Richards, the Great Danes finished the period on a 7-1 run to go into halftime up 35-22.

UAlbany kept going inside for its looks at the basket, drawing fouls and hitting layups. Richards scored eight of the team’s first 10 points out of the break, including three off the glass in a row, as UAlbany led 49-26 just after seven minutes elapsed in the period.

After an Alex Thomas score, Royals again led UAlbany on a run, scoring four points on a 6-0 spurt to give UAlbany a 27-point lead.

The teams exchanged baskets, as a couple of Megan Craig putback layups put the score at 64-37 with 5:05 remaining. CSUF put a late run 8-2 together in a span of two minutes, but UAlbany kept the advantage as a couple of late Craig layups helped the Purple and Gold finish the game 71-49 to take the win.
Four UAlbany players scored double digits, including Phillip scoring 13 points off 6-8 shooting and four boards.
“Our best play came in transition, and our team is much stronger with that,” says Phillip.
Royals finished with 12 points and seven assists, while Craig concluded with 13 points off 6-8 shooting.
For the Titans, Chante Miles had 20 points and six assists, while Iwuoha got seven points.
UAlbany wraps up the homestand on Sunday, hosting Delaware State at 2 p.m.