University of Albany Women's Basketball Comes Alive in Second Half to Defeat Cornell, 80-55, at SEFCU Arena - UAlbany Sports 2009

Albany, N.Y. - Ebone Henry contributed 14 points, five steals and four rebounds off the bench to lead the UAlbany women's basketball team to a convincing 80-55 victory over Cornell on Sunday, Nov. 29 at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes, who were trailing by 12 points midway through the opening frame, rallied to take a three-point lead at halftime before outscoring the Big Red by 22 in the second half.

UAlbany (3-2), which led by a 30-27 score at the break after erasing a double-digit deficit, made adjustments defensively and successfully worked a 1-3-1 trap in the second half. The move forced Cornell to commit 18 of its 28 turnovers in the final frame. Felicia Johnson converted a conventional three-point play to put the Great Danes ahead by double figures for the first time, 41-31, with 16:42 left in the game.

After UAlbany went ahead by 13 on two free throws by Tabitha Makopondo, the Big Red cut the lead down to nine on a good jumper by Fedorowicz with 12:21 on the clock. That was the closest the visitors would come the rest of the game.

"Our coach told us to keep taking our shots, and that they would fall eventually," said Henry, who led the Great Danes in scoring for the third straight game and had a career high for steals. "We kept shooting in the second half, and [the shots] fell. Defensively, we stopped [Allie Fedorowicz], and they weren't prepared for our pressure defense."

Henry scored five consecutive points to put UAlbany ahead by a 53-39 score. Melia Basavand came off the bench and accounted for 11 of the team's next 12 points by nailing three shots from behind the arc along with a pair of free throws to put the hosts ahead by a margin of 65-48. The Great Danes' lead ballooned to 28 points when Kate Cronin converted a short jumper with 46 seconds left. Fedorowicz hit a three in the waning seconds to seal the final outcome.

"Our defense ignited us," said head coach Trina Patterson. "We lost to them by four last year and they had three seniors returning. They just couldn't get their shots off our 1-3-1 trap in the second half. We made some good adjustments [at halftime]."

UAlbany, which won for the third time in four games, scored four of the first six points before Cornell (3-3) went on a run to take a commanding 18-6 lead at the midway point of the first half. Fedorowicz, who netted a team-high 19 points in a 50-46 win over the Great Danes last season, canned three consecutive shots from downtown during the stretch.

The Great Danes emptied out their bench and started to chip away at the deficit. A three-point field goal by Henry from the left corner with 1:40 left in the opening half put the hosts up for good at 26-25. Trailing by a point with an opportunity to regain the lead at the recess, Lauren Benson had the ball stolen away from her at midcourt by Julie Forster in the final seconds. The freshman went all the way in for a fastbreak layup to give the Great Danes a three-point cushion at the break.

UAlbany's Makopondo and Basavand came alive in the second half and scored in double figures along with Henry. Makopondo had 13 points, including 11 in the second half, to go along with four rebounds. All of Basavand's 11 points came in the final stanza. Forster finished the game with seven points, eight rebounds and three steals, while Johnson added eight points and six assists.

Cornell was led by Fedorowicz, who finished with a game-high 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and 6-for-9 shooting from behind the arc. Christine Vlasic contributed six points and a team-best eight rebounds off the bench, while Benson had six assists.

"It was a great team effort," added Patterson, whose team had seven players net at least seven points and will visit Canisius on Wednesday night. "We talk about having a team with no stars. Everybody made plays. We shot only 19 percent early, but there's always energy coming off the bench."

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information