Women's Basketball Edged By Top Seed Boston U. in OT in America East Quarterfinal Round

West Hartford, Conn. – Christine Kinneary scored 17 points and made a driving shot with three seconds remaining in overtime as regular-season champion Boston University came from behind to edge UAlbany, 77-75, in the quarterfinal round of the America East Conference Tournament on Friday, March 12 at the University of Hartford’s Chase Arena. The Terriers, the top seed, moves on to meet Binghamton in Saturday’s first semifinal.

The Great Danes, who were bidding to become the second No. 8 seed to win a quarterfinal in the history of the America East championship, took a 67-64 lead in regulation when Britney McGee delivered a three-point field goal from the right wing off Charity Iromuanya’s inbounds pass. Kinnerary, a first-team all-league guard, connected on a drive and Alex Young made the first of two free throws to force a tie. McGee’s turnaround in the lane off a spin move with three second to play was off the mark.

Boston U. (23-6) jumped out to a 71-67 lead in the extra period. Jesyka Burks-Wiley, the conference player of the year who had 23 points and 10 rebounds, sank two foul shots and Kristi Dini hit a layup after Amarachi Umez-Eronini’s steal. But the Great Danes regrouped when McGee canned her seventh triple of the game from the right corner and Janea Aiken made the second of two from the foul line that tied the contest at 75 apiece.

UAlbany’s Kim Clements missed the front end of a one-and-one and Boston U.’s Umez-Eronini failed to make a pair from the charity stripe to set up a wild finish. McGee lost control of the ball with 10 seconds remaining and Umez-Eronini came up with loose ball. The senior guard then fell to the floor at mid-court put kept the play alive, getting the ball to Kinneary for the go-ahead basket. McGee’s 30-foot launch for the win went in-and-out at the buzzer.

“I am very proud of this team,” said UAlbany coach Trina Patterson, whose squad lost to the Terriers by 30 and 23 in the regular season. “We played well enough to win. In the tournament, it is about heart and pride. We were in a very aggressive attack mode on both ends of the floor after sagging back the first two times (we played). We gave ourselves a chance, but at the end, they just made the plays.”

In the first half, Boston U. tried to deliver the knockout blow early by leaping to a 12-2 lead with less than three minutes elapsed. Dini, who scored 15, nailed a three-point field goal from the left wing, before Burks-Wiley split a pair of free throws to end that outburst. The Terriers later increased their margin to 26-11 with nine unanswered. Aly Hinton and Young made back-to-back 3-pointers and Umez-Eronini hit a pull-up bank shot in transition to give their squad the largest lead of the period.

UAlbany (6-25) responded with 19 of the game’s next 21 points behind the play of McGee, who scored 19 of her career-high 32 before the break. McGee drilled consecutive three-pointers, one from left of the key and the second in transition following a steal, and made a driving one-hander in the lane to close the gap to 26-22. She later canned a 21-footer from the top of the arc and set up Ashley Lindsay for a layup. Clements split a pair of free throws to draw her team even and then put the Great Danes ahead, 30-28, on a fastbreak layup.

The Great Danes still led by one in the final two minutes of the period, but pushed out to a 37-31 halftime advantage. McGee, who made 7-of-15 from beyond the arc and grabbed seven rebounds, converted in the lane and Iromuanya split two foul shots after collecting an offensive rebound. Aiken, who had 20 points, hit a drive in the lane with 27 seconds left in the stanza.

“Coach (Patterson) told me to come in with an aggressive mentality,” explained McGee, whose previous career-best effort was 30 points against UMBC on Feb. 25. “She told the whole team to do that. Fortunately, I was able to knock down my shots.”

The Great Danes built a 54-42 lead in the final period and were still ahead by 10 midway through the half. But Boston U. came roaring back. Dini nailed a three-pointer from the right wing and Kerry Cashman scored on the fastbreak. Kinneary, who handed out seven assists, sank two free throws for a 60-all tie with 5:36 left.

Iromuanya, a junior guard, finished with 10 points and posted career-high in rebounds (12) and assists (7) for the Great Danes, who had defeated Maine, 63-43, in Thursday’s first round. Boston U. had won the conference’s regular-season crown outright for the first time by becoming the fifth team in America East history to go undefeated in league play. The Terriers, who have won 18 in a row, are one of four Division I teams to finish unbeaten against conference opponents this season.

“We played them as tight as anybody has in the conference,” explained Iromuanya, who had 15 points and eight rebounds in the opening round. “I think it opened people's eyes a bit. We proved today that if we play as a team and as one unit, we can be a good team and beat one of the top teams in this conference. No doubt about it.”