UAlbany falls to Connecticut

For Albany, the game —a 116-55 loss to UConn— was a reflection of a ‘good to be here’ mentality.

Normally it wouldn’t be sensible to show as much emotion as Imani Tate did when she blocked a shot in the third quarter of a 37-point game. She screamed and pumped her fists in the camera’s face like her play was just what the Great Danes needed to spark a run.

But it wasn’t, obviously. For Albany, the game was a reflection of a ‘good to be here’ mentality. Joanna Bernabei-McNamee smiled after a 116-55 loss about how she appreciated that UConn coach Geno Auriemma had taken pictures with her kids. Tate took the nameplate from the press conference as a souvenir.

Albany has been to six-straight NCAA Tournaments. They won a first round game last season. But UConn relegated them to looking starstruck.

“Connecticut is just a really good team,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “So at the end of the day, I am glad we had the opportunity to play and I probably wouldn’t have done much different.”

There were a couple really impressive moments. A 7-1 run and another 10-2 spurt. But for the most part, Connecticut was exactly what everyone thought they would be. And Albany lost a 11655 blowout that probably fell short of even a moral victory.

Tate scored 19 points in her final college game, and was taking nearly every shot in the second half. Albany probably didn’t deserve a 16 seed against UConn, but it’s what they got. And though their effort was there, the execution wasn’t. And as a result, the

JESSICA HILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Albany’s Imani Tate, left, reaches for the ball as Connecticut’s Saniya Chong, right, looks up to the basket during the first half of a first round round of a women’s college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Storrs, Conn.