UAlbany Women's Basketball Seeded Fourth for America East Conference Championship

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Cambridge, Mass. – Hartford has earned the top seed in the America East Conference Tournament after winning the regular-season title for the third straight season. The Hawks, who finished 23-5 overall and 13-2 in the conference, will host the 2008 tournament, presented by Friendship Cottage Cheese, at Chase Arena in West Hartford, Conn.

The America East championship tournament will begin with a first-round match-up between eighth seeded Maine (7-22, AE 4-12) and ninth seeded Stony Brook (7-22, AE 2-14) on Thursday, March 13. Quarterfinal games will take place on Friday, March 14, with semifinal action starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 15. The 2008 championship will be played on Sunday at 5 p.m. The America East champion receives an automatic NCAA berth.

UAlbany (12-17, AE 10-6) is the fourth seed and will meet No. 5 Binghamton (11-8, AE 9-7) in the second quarterfinal game of Friday’s evening session. The game will start 30 minutes after the completion of the contest between Hartford and the winner of the Maine/Stony Brook match-up, which begins at 6 p.m. The Great Danes, who have earned their highest seeding in the conference tournament since joining the America East in 2001, took both games from Binghamton during the regular-season series.

Senior forwards Kristin Higy and Gia Sanders have paced the Great Danes this season. Higy leads the team offensively, averaging 10.9 points per game while leading the conference in three-point shooting percentage (.384). Sanders, UAlbany’s career blocks leader, is chipping in with 9.0 points per game and is also grabbing a team-high 6.9 rebounds per contest. Sanders also is first on the team with 1.92 steals and 1.52 blocks per game.

Binghamton won three of its final four games before losing the regular-season finale to UAlbany on March 5. The Bearcats are led by seniors Laine Kurpniece and Laura Sario, who average 12.4 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Kurpniece, a preseason all-conference selection, also grabs a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game.

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2008 America East Conference Women’s Basketball Championship

(University of Hartford’s Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion, West Hartford, Conn.)

Thursday, March 13

Game 1 - #8 Maine (7-22, 4-12) vs. #9 Stony Brook (7-22, 2-14), 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 14

Game 2 - #7 New Hampshire (7-21, 4-12) vs. #2 Vermont (22-7, 13-3), 12 noon

Game 3 - #6 UMBC (9-19, 5-10) vs. #3 Boston U. (18-11, 11-5), 2:00 p.m.*

Game 4 - Game 1 winner vs. #1 Hartford (23-5, 13-2), 6:00 p.m.

Game 5 - #5 Binghamton (11-18, 9-7) vs. #4 UAlbany (12-17, 10-6), 8:00 p.m.*

Saturday, March 15

Game 6 – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 5 p.m. (AE-TV/NESN)

Game 7 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m. (AE-TV/NESN)

Sunday, March 16

Game 8 – America East Conference Championship, 5 p.m. (AE-TV/CSN)



*Second game of each session will start 30 minutes following the conclusion of the prior contest