University of Albany Women's Basketball Posts Fifth Straight Win in 69-54 America East Triumph Against Maine

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Orono, Maine – Gia Sanders scored a career-high 19 points and Kristin Higy added 15 in leading UAlbany to its fifth consecutive victory with a 69-54 America East Conference triumph over Maine on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at Harold Alfond Sports Arena. The Great Danes, who swept the season series for the first time since joining the conference seven years ago, own their longest winning streak since December 1998.

The Great Danes, who shot 51.7 percent from the field in the opening half, jumped out to an 11-2 lead when Sanders drilled a three-point field goal from right of the key. UAlbany (9-14, AE 7-3) was still ahead 24-19, but then rattled off 12 of the game’s next 16 points. Sanders, who made all five of her field goal attempts in the period, scored seven in that span, including a three-point basket. Higy, a 6’1” senior who had 12 first-half points, nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the arc for a 36-23 cushion. But the Black Bears tallied seven unanswered to end the half. Kris Younan had a pair of baskets, and Sandra Vaitkute converted a jump hook.

In the second half, Maine’s Tanna Ross connected on a three-point play when she was fouled on a turnaround in the lane that closed the gap to 39-33. The Great Danes responded with a 16-2 run to pull away. TaNika Thrower made a spinning jumper before Charity Iromuanya hit a layup following a steal to ignite that outburst. Sanders, who made 8-of-10 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds in 22 minutes, later buried a three-pointer and an 8-footer from right of the lane. Britney McGee, who handed out a career-high 10 assists and had four steals, made a long-range jumper for a 55-35 lead with 12:18 remaining.

"It takes a lot of toughness to win on the road,” said UAlbany coach Trina Patterson, whose team is tied for second place and one game behind league-leader Hartford in the conference standings. “Our defense was tremendous and that's what we strive on. We used our pressure and athleticism to create turnovers. Our pressure defense helps when teams are much bigger than us (like Maine)."

Maine (6-17, AE 3-7) got as close as 63-51 with 4:54 to play when Colleen Kilmurray sank a 3-pointer from the right wing. Sanders, a 6-foot-1 senior, followed with a layup on the baseline. Iromuanya made two free throws and Sherri Mikus canned a short jumper to help end the threat. The Great Danes won for the first time in six trips to Alfond Arena.

"We knew Maine was going to come out hot, looking for revenge from the last game, so we knew we had to dominate,” explained Sanders, whose team posted a 78-46 victory in the first meeting on Jan. 13 at SEFCU Arena. “When we are dominating teams, we are not thinking about it. We play off our energy and instinct."

Sophomore guard Amanda Tewksbury totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Black Bears, who were held to 35.8-percent shooting on 19-of-53 attempts. Kilmurray and Ross added 10 points apiece. Maine was coming off back-to-back home wins, but turned the ball over 24 times.

"We are conditioned really well,” offered Higy, who scored in double figures for the 15th time this season. “We have a great bench that keeps up the intensity. Sometimes they maintain it, and sometimes it gives us a bigger spark. Our defense sparks our offense, and we are able to create opportunities."



UAlbany 69, Maine 54 (2/13/08 at Orono, Maine)

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Official Basketball Box Score
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Official Basketball Box Score
ALBANY vs Maine
2/13/08 7:30 p.m. at Orono, Maine (Alfond Arena)
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VISITORS: ALBANY 9-14, 7-3 AE
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
15 Mikus, Sherri....... f 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 3 4 1 3 0 2 13
23 Iromuanya, Charity.. f 2-3 0-0 4-4 1 0 1 3 8 1 2 1 1 28
31 Higy, Kristin....... c 5-11 3-5 2-2 2 3 5 1 15 0 5 0 0 32
02 McGee, Britney...... g 1-8 1-7 0-0 1 2 3 1 3 10 2 0 4 31
05 Thrower, Tanika..... g 3-14 0-3 0-0 3 3 6 1 6 0 0 0 0 25
01 Ford, Amira......... 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 11
03 Lindsay, Ashley..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
10 Aiken, Janea........ 3-5 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 2 8 1 0 0 0 19
14 Clements, Kim....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
24 Sanders, Gia........ 8-10 3-4 0-0 0 6 6 3 19 0 2 1 1 22
44 Sterling, Joy....... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 8
55 Peterson, Kirsten... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 6
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 27-59 9-21 6-6 11 17 28 17 69 14 16 2 8 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-29 51.7% 2nd Half: 12-30 40.0% Game: 45.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 5-12 41.7% Game: 42.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100 % 2nd Half: 4-4 100 % Game: 100 % 0

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HOME TEAM: Maine 6-17, 3-7 AE
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
13 Boser, Brittany..... f 1-9 0-0 2-2 4 1 5 0 4 0 1 0 0 18
25 Tewksbury, Amanda... f 4-7 0-0 3-4 5 5 10 2 11 3 5 0 3 37
32 Kilmurray, Colleen.. c 3-6 1-1 3-3 1 4 5 4 10 0 2 0 3 25
02 Younan, Kris........ g 3-8 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 6 0 3 0 1 28
04 Baker, Kristin...... g 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 2 4 0 0 21
05 Ross, Tanna......... 4-8 1-3 1-1 0 1 1 0 10 1 2 0 1 18
21 Johnson, Magdala.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
23 Rousseau, Emily..... 2-5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 0 1 12
30 Bowen, Brittany..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
33 Mosher, Christina... 1-5 0-0 4-4 5 3 8 3 6 1 3 1 0 29
52 Vaitkute, Sandra.... 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 6
55 Bratishko, Katia.... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
TEAM................ 4 3 7 2
Totals.............. 19-53 2-7 14-16 19 20 39 13 54 10 24 1 9 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-31 35.5% 2nd Half: 8-22 36.4% Game: 35.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-5 20.0% 2nd Half: 1-2 50.0% Game: 28.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 7-8 87.5% 2nd Half: 7-8 87.5% Game: 87.5% 1

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Officials: John Riordan, Reta Brown, Colleen O'Connor
Technical fouls: ALBANY-None. Maine-None.
Attendance: 1656
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
ALBANY........................ 36 33 - 69
Maine......................... 30 24 - 54
ID-614574
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