University of Albany Iromuanya's Career Night and Big Second Half Propels Women's Basketball Past Binghamton

Albany, N.Y. - Charity Iromuanya scored 14 of her career-high 22 points in the second half and defensively helped keep one of the nation's top three-point shooters in check to propel the UAlbany women's basketball team to a 65-51 win over Binghamton on Monday, Feb. 15 at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes, who were supporting the WBCA's "Pink Zone" initiative to raise awareness of Breast Cancer, forced the Bearcats to shoot a season-low 21.5 percent from the floor to earn their second America East Conference win in the past three games.

Binghamton (9-17, AE 5-8), which had won the last three meetings between the teams by an average margin of four points, rallied from a three-point halftime deficit and regained the lead at the 17:14 mark when Andrea Holmes made a shot from the right elbow in transition. Iromuanya then scored seven of the Great Danes' next nine points, which included burying a three-point field goal at the 13:51 mark to break a 34-34 deadlock.

The Bearcats drew even at 41 apiece at the midway point of the frame when Viive Rebane sank two free throws, but UAlbany broke loose by embarking on a 13-2 run. Julie Forster and Iromuanya combined for all of UAlbany's scoring during the stretch. A layup by Ebone Henry, who was named the league's rookie of the week earlier in the day, increased the margin to double digits the rest of the way, and Keyana Williams' free throws with 29 seconds remaining gave the Great Danes their largest lead at 14 points and sealed the final outcome.

"The thing that impressed me the most was that these kids showed they could come back after losing two days ago," said head coach Trina Patterson, whose squad will hit the road to face UMBC on Thursday, Feb. 18. "We kept the foot on the gas pedal (when we got the lead in the second half), and we really focused on playing two offensive halves and two defensive halves. To me, those were our two biggest accomplishments. We also took Erica Carter and Viive Rebane out of the game, and Charity was definitely our MVP tonight."

UAlbany (9-16, AE 2-10) used a balanced scoring attack to jump out to a 13-3 lead by the second media timeout. Defensively, the Great Danes forced the Bearcats to miss 14 of their first 15 shots. The conference's top three-point shooting team fought back and went on a 16-2 run by using the long ball and offensive rebounding to get to the free throw line. A trifecta by Jackie Ward from the right corner put Binghamton ahead for the first time since the opening minutes at the 6:14 mark.

The end of the half featured a wild string of events in the final 40 seconds. With the Great Danes trailing 22-21, Felicia Johnson made a three-point field goal from the top of the key with 18 seconds left. UAlbany maintained possession due to a foul called off the ball, and Iromuanya took advantage of the situation by drilling a shot from beyond the arc to give the hosts a five-point lead with 15 ticks remaining. Holmes' jumper on the ensuing play beat the buzzer, but the hosts still went into the recess with a 27-24 advantage.

"I was able to shoot the ball well, but it felt like somebody got an assist off of almost every shot that I made," added Iromuanya, who was 8-of-13 from the field and was named the team's player of the game. "Felicia and everybody else on the floor were doing a great job of passing and moving the ball, and that helped me to knock down my shots."

In addition to netting a career-best 22 points, Iromuanya shot a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free throw line to lead the Great Danes. Along with Henry, who added six points and five rebounds, the duo combined to hold Carter, who ranked third nationally in three-point field goals per game, to just three points and no field goals from behind the arc. Johnson added 14 points and four assists, while Forster finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Holmes, who was named Binghamton's player of the game, finished with a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four assists. Ward added 11 points, and Rebane grabbed 12 boards while being limited to just four points.



Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information