UAlbany rallies to defeat Binghamton 43-38
VESTAL, NY » The UAlbany women’s basketball came from behind to top Binghamton 43-38 on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m really proud of our defensive effort, holding Binghamton to 38 points, and I’m impressed with how well we defended their sets and their best player, Denai Bowman,” said UAlbany Head Coach Colleen Mullen.
Binghamton would open the game with a 6-0 run, which was promptly followed by a UAlbany 6-0 run, to tie the game. Binghamton scored on the next possession, giving them an 8-6 lead to end the first quarter. Both teams committed eight turnovers in the first.
The Bearcats would take advantage of the Great Danes shooting 1-7 from the floor to begin the period. They look a five-point lead, going into the half with a 1914 advantage.
UAlbany cut their deficit to two with 2:03 left in the third following a 6-0 run lasting nearly four minutes of game time. The Great Danes held Binghamton scoreless for the final 3:36 of the third quarter, but also did not score for the quarter’s final 2:03. Binghamton held onto a 28-26 lead going into the fourth.
“We never really got in our groove offensively, and we struggled with our pace, but at thThat lead didn’t last long once the fourth quarter began. UAlbany’s Kayla Cooper tied the game with a jumper in the paint eleven seconds into the period. Shortly after, Lucia Decortes gave the Great Danes the lead. It would be short
lived though as Binghamton came back with a three. With 3:09 left, Ellen Hahne hit a layup to give Albany a 36-35 lead, then hit two more field goals pushing the lead to five.
In total, the Great Danes went on an 11-0 run before the Bearcats hit a three with one second left. It wasn’t enough - UAlbany led 43-38 and have won four of their last five games.
UAlbany shot 7-12 in their big fourth quarter and they did not allow Binghamton to get to the free throw line during the entire game.
Hahne led the scoring with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Cooper had 11 points and six rebounds. Decortes had 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. UAlbany outrebounded Binghamton 41-29.
“We really controlled the boards today. We struggled with that at UMass Lowell and we really made it a point of emphasis this week to focus on it. Our offensive rebounding was certainly a key to the game,” Mullen added. “Sometimes the games aren’t the prettiest but you can always keep making the effort plays, get big stops and come up with 50-50 balls, and I was really proud with the team’s effort today.”
With the win, UAlbany improved to 6-7 overall on the season and 5-4 in the American East. Having played their thirteenth game, the Great Danes satisfied eligibility requirements for full postseason consideration
Next: UAlbany closes the series at Binghamton on Sunday at 1:00 pm.