Janea Aiken Posts Career-High 33 Points in 67-63 Loss to Binghamton in A-East Opener

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Vestal, N.Y. – Laura Franceski recorded 14 points, 13 rebounds and two assists to lead Binghamton past the University at Albany, 67-63, in America East Conference women’s basketball action at the Events Center on Saturday afternoon. The Great Danes erased a 19-2 deficit and took a 30-28 lead to open the second half before the Bearcats recovered to win their first league game of the year.

UAlbany (2-12, AE 0-1) got a career-best 33 points from Janea Aiken, which marked the most points scored by an individual in a conference game against the Bearcats. The previous standard was set by Boston University’s Rachel Vanderwal, who scored 29 points on Feb. 15, 2006.

Trailing 63-53 with one minute remaining in regulation, Aiken hit a three-point field goal from about 30 feet away to pull the Great Danes within seven points. After Andrea Holmes made one of two free throws for Binghamton, Charity Iromuanya hit a running jumper for two of her eight points to make it a six-point game. Following a UAlbany foul, Erica Carter scored two of her 11 points from the charity stripe to put Binghamton (6-9, AE 1-1) ahead by a 66-58 score with 33.1 seconds left. Aiken hit another one of her four shots from behind the arc to trim the lead to five before Holmes drilled another free throw.

The Great Danes got the ball to Aiken again on its ensuing possession, but her shot from downtown with 19 seconds left bounced out. After Jackie Ward missed two free throws, Tabitha Makopondo, who finished with a career-best nine rebounds, made it 67-63 when she put back her own offensive rebound with three seconds on the clock to seal the outcome.

The teams held each other scoreless for over two minutes to start the game, but the Bearcats used a balanced scoring attack to take a 12-0 advantage. With Britney McGee on the sideline after picking up two quick fouls in the first three minutes, the Great Danes got on the scoreboard when Tiffanie Johnson canned a long jump shot from the top of the key with 12:12 on the clock.

Paced by two field goals from Ward, Binghamton rattled off seven consecutive points to take a 19-2 lead before Aiken scored seven straight points to close the gap to 10 with 8:50 to play. A few minutes later, the Bearcats were forced to call their first timeout when the lead was trimmed to seven at 23-16 thanks to Iromuanya’s 18-foot jumper from the right wing. UAlbany, which missed its first 14 shots before hitting 10 of its next 14 to close out the stanza, ended the half on a 6-0 run as the teams headed to their locker rooms locked at 28.

Aiken gave UAlbany its first lead of the ballgame when she drove in for a layup on the team’s opening possession of the second half. Binghamton responded with a 14-3 run to go ahead, 42-33, with 13:05 left to play in regulation. Viive Rebane scored 10 of her team-best 16 points to keep the Bearcats ahead the rest of the way, and UAlbany fell to 0-6 this season in games decided by five points or less.

“When you go on the road and play in games like this, every possession, foul and rebound is important,” said UAlbany head coach Trina Patterson. “I thought the difference was that they outrebounded us. In the second half, our team defense wasn't as sharp as it was in the first half. Foul trouble hurt us, but our bench picked us up. Charity played very well, and Janea was outstanding."

The Great Danes, who will face Maine in their America East home opener on Jan. 13, shot 40 percent (22-55) from the field despite starting the game off ice cold. UAlbany also converted 28.6 percent (6-21) of its three-point field goals and shot 59.1 percent (13-22) from the charity stripe, while the Bearcats shot 43.1 percent (22-51) from the field, 50 percent (5-10) from behind the arc and 58.1 percent (18-31) from the free throw line.

"We showed today that we are not going to go away very easily when we don't have the lead,” said Aiken, who set a facility record at the Events Center and was just three points off the UAlbany single-game scoring record of 36. “We are going to fight to the very end. Even with very little time left on the clock, we still came back. No matter what, we are never going to give up."