Maine Rallies in Final Minutes to Hand Women's Basketball a 61-58 Loss in A-East Play

Albany, N.Y. - Samantha Wheeler netted 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and made a layup and a pair of free throws in the waning minutes as Maine rallied down the stretch to defeat UAlbany, 61-58, in an America East Conference women's basketball matchup at SEFCU Arena on Thursday, Jan. 28.

Down 30-28 at halftime, UAlbany (7-13, AE 0-7) came out hot and started the second period on a 10-0 run to take an eight-point lead. Freshmen Keyana Williams and Ebone Henry each had four points to put the Great Danes ahead for the first time since the opening minutes.

Maine (7-13, AE 3-5) chipped away at the deficit and tied the score at 42 when Wheeler nailed a jumper with 13:24 on the clock, but Felicia Johnson hit a 3-pointer from the left corner to ignite a 7-0 run and put the hosts back ahead. The Black Bears, who led for most of the first half, clawed back once again. Katelyn Vanderhoff converted a layup to tie the score at 51, and a Kristin Baker free throw put the visitors ahead for the first time since the opening minute of the stanza.

After Henry hit one of two free throws, the Black Bears scored on three consecutive possessions to take a 58-52 advantage with 1:36 left to play. Wheeler made a driving layup and two free throws, while Baranowski hit a short jumper just outside of the paint.

UAlbany did not go away, as Melia Basavand, who netted seven 3-pointers last week against New Hampshire, hit a bomb taken from the top of the key to slice the lead in half with 41 seconds remaining. Following a missed free throw on a one-and-one by Baker, UAlbany came out of a timeout with a chance to tie the game. However, Tabitha Makopondo's turnaround jumper which would have cut the Black Bear lead to one rimmed out.

Soon after Baker made the back end of two free throws to put the visitors up by a 59-55 score with 13 seconds left, Basavand hit another trifecta to make it a one-point affair at 59-58 with six seconds on the clock. Once Vanderhoff made two clutch free throws with five seconds left to make it a three-point game, UAlbany had one last chance to tie and force overtime. However, Johnson's 30-foot attempt at the buzzer was no good, as the Black Bears held on for their second straight win.

"We competed, but we didn't do the things we needed to do to win," said head coach Trina Patterson, whose team shot 50 percent in the second half but made one of its nine shots from the line in the last 20 minutes. "The team that makes the most free throws down the stretch is the team that is going to win. We are not going to win games if we don't make free throws. Shooting 47 percent from the line is just ridiculous."

Keyed by Baker and Wheeler, Maine built up an 18-6 lead in early going while forcing UAlbany to miss its first eight shots and convert only one of its first 17 attempts from the field in the first 11 minutes. The Great Danes, who struggled early against the Black Bears' 3-2 zone defense and 2-2-1 fullcourt trap, then came alive by netting eight consecutive points on 6-of-8 shooting to make it an 18-14 game. Henry scored six, including two on a fastbreak following a Charity Iromuanya steal in the backcourt, to spark the run.

UAlbany's defense did not allow Maine to make a field goal for almost eight minutes until a Wheeler layup made it 26-19 in favor of the visitors. The Great Danes closed the gap to just two at 30-28 when Forster spinned and made a hook shot that beat the buzzer signaling halftime.

Henry, who was named UAlbany's player of the game, finished with a career-high 18 points and grabbed five rebounds. Iromuanya and Forster each fell short of double-doubles. Iromuanya contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, while Forster also scored 10 and pulled down eight boards.

In addition to Wheeler, who also had four rebounds, Maine was also paced by Baranowski, the team's player of the game, and Baker. Baranowski had 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Baker netted 10 and had four assists.

"We were winning games against man-to-man defenses (in non-conference), and now we are playing against zones in conference play," explained Henry, whose team has seen zone defenses throughout the month against America East opposition. "However, we beat ourselves today because we couldn't make our free throws. It's frustrating (to be winless in the conference), but we can't dwell on it and just have to be ready for the next one."

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information