University of Maine
Albany (N.Y.)
Women's Basketball Falls to UAlbany in Defensive Battle
1/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BANGOR, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (8-5, 0-1 AE) lost its America East opener to visiting UAlbany (8-6, 1-0 AE) by a score of 49-43 on Saturday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Center. Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) led the scoring for the Black Bears with 13 points to go along with four rebounds and a pair of blocks.
UAlbany and Maine entered the contest as the top two defensive teams in the league and proved the stats to be true as each team limited the other to under 50 points. Neither team was able to break the 20 point plateau in the first half as the Great Danes led 19-17 at the break. The Black Bears finished the game with 12 steals and four blocks while forcing UAlbany to turn it over 24 times.
Liz Wood (Catlett, Va.) and Sigi Koizar (Vienna, Austria) each added nine points while Wood tallied a game-high six steals. Maine struggled from the floor, shooting just 34.8 percent (16-for-46), including a 5-for-20 mark from three-point range.
Shereesha Richards led all scorers with 21 for the Great Danes.
UAlbany took a six-point lead with 2:41 left in the second half but a 3-pointer from Heise, followed by a reverse layup from the junior center, brought the Black Bears back within a point with 48-seconds left. However, UAlbany went 5-for-5 down the stretch from the free throw line to lock up a six point victory.
Each team's stellar zone defense was the key to the first half scoring struggles. A 5-0 Maine run on a 3-pointer from Lauren Bodine (Louisville, Ky.) and an elbow jumper from Wood gave the Black Bears a three-point edge with eight minutes gone in the opening half.
UAlbany regained a lead as Richards' layup put the Great Danes up by three until Chantel Charles (London, UK) kicked a pass over to Koizar who hit a three to knot the score at 13-all with 4:42 remaining.
The game continued to be tied late into the first half until Richards knocked down a pair of late free throws to give UAlbany a 19-17 lead at the half.
Out of the break, each team seemed to find their offense as each was able to tally quick buckets. Maine matched UAlbany score for score until the Great Danes hit back-to-back jumper, building their advantage to 30-24, 5:22 into the second half.
UAlbany took its largest lead of the contest when a steal led to a layup from Richards, giving the Great Danes a 10-point lead.
Maine began its comeback with back-to-back layups from Heise. The Black Bears, trailing by eight with under five minutes to play, cut the lead down to four with a bucket from Wood and two free throws by Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine).
The Great Dane lead expanded to six before Heise's 3-pointer began Maine's late 5-0 run. The Black Bears regained possession with a loose ball defensive rebound before Wood found Heise down low for two, bringing Maine within one.
That would be as close as the Black Bears would get as UAlbany's Sarah Royals drew a foul on a halfcourt heave. Royals knocked down all three of her free throws as the Great Danes ended up with a 49-43 victory.
Maine completes its non-conference schedule on Jan. 7 at Yale with a 7 p.m. tip scheduled.
-U-M-
