University of Albany Wins Third Straight in 65-50 Victory Over Maine; Great Danes Tied for First Place - UAlbany Sports 2011

Orono, Maine - Sophomore guard Ebone Henry led three UAlbany players in double-figure scoring with a game-high 17 points to lead the Great Danes to a 65-50 win over Maine in America East Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday evening at Alfond Arena. UAlbany is 3-0 to start conference play for the first time since joining the league in 2000.

The Great Danes, who were coming off a win at Hartford last Saturday, came out firing to start the game, building up a 21-13 lead on a 3-pointer by Melia Basavand with 8:32 on the clock. Maine's Tanna Ross responded with a trey of her own that sparked a 9-2 run, pulling the Black Bears to within a point, 23-22, with just over five minutes left to play. A 3-pointer by Amber Smith gave Maine its first lead of the game, but Henry hit a jumper to tie the game at 25-25 with 4:04 left to play. The teams exchanged baskets for the rest of the half, with a layup by America East player of the game Cassandra Callaway setting the halftime score at 29-29.

Callaway, who finished with 16 points, teamed up with Tabatha Makopondo to go 4-for-4 from the free throw line to start the second half, after which the Great Danes embarked on a 10-0 run that would give UAlbany the lead for good. The Great Danes would get up by 11, 49-38, at about the midway point of the second half, before Maine attempted to chip away at the deficit. Two free throws by Jaymie Druding pulled the Black Bears back within seven, but Callaway knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game to put the Great Danes back ahead by double digits.

UAlbany continued to run away with the game in the closing minutes, as Henry scored two baskets around a pair of free throws, giving the Great Danes a 58-45 advantage with just under four minutes to play. Makopondo hit two shots from the charity stripe with 21 ticks left to seal the final margin.

"Defensively we were too aggressive in the first half, going for every steal," said UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who also led the Great Danes to their best-ever Division I start earlier this season. "In the second half, we just committed to playing good contained solid defense. We looked to run a lot of plays to the basket and our guards played really well. Felicia [Johnson] was really poised and got us into some good offensive plays. Tabitha [Makopondo] played great D and grabbed offensive rebounds and helped on every drive."

Johnson was the third player for the Great Danes with double-digit scoring, adding 10 points to go along with five assists in a 40-minute performance. Julie Forster grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for UAlbany. Ashleigh Roberts finished with a team-high 11 points for Maine (3-13, AE 1-3), while Druding added 10 points for the Black Bears. UAlbany (10-6, AE 3-0) shot 38.7-percent (24-62) from the floor, while holding Maine to 30.9-percent (17-55) shooting.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information