Saturday, December 8, 2007

Women’s Basketball Falls Late to Detroit Mercy 51-49

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Detroit, Mich. – Joyce Massey scored on a driving layup with four seconds remaining to give Detroit Mercy a 51-49 victory over UAlbany in women’s basketball action at the Calihan Hall on Saturday afternoon.

The Titans took their first lead of the second half, 49-47, with 38 seconds remaining on a layup by India Bruster. Charity Iromuanya tied the score at 49 with 25seconds left on a layup. After calling a time-out following Massey’s basket, TaNika Thrower received a full court pass from Britney McGee, but her game-tying fadeaway shot attempt rolled off the rim.

Detroit Mercy (1-7) opened the second half by cutting the lead to five, 30-25, with 16:59 remaining. UAlbany responded by scoring nine straight points to take a game-high 14 point lead. Kristin Higy ignited the run by hitting a three-pointer with 16:19 to play and McGee capped the streak with a pair of free throws to give the Great Danes a 39-25 advantage.

The Titans scored 20 of the game’s next 26 points over a span of 9:14 to tie the score at 45 with 3:09 remaining in the contest. Bruster, who tallied a team-high 11 points and a game-high 18 rebounds in the contest, started the comeback with a layup. Massey contributed four points and Sandi Brown added five points in the run to spark the Titans. Brown’s two foul shots with 3:09 left knotted the score at 45. Freshman Janea Aiken hit two free throws as UAlbany re-took the lead with just over three minutes remaining. Detroit Mercy got a foul shot each from Massey and Bruster to lead to the dramatics of the final minute.

“Our team has to learn how to finish out games on the road,” commented UAlbany head coach Trina Patterson, whose team remains winless in eight games on the road this season. “We need more maturity and team chemistry and five people playing together.”

The Titans jumped out to an early 6-0 lead 3:13 into the first half on a layup by Shawan Stubblefield. UAlbany scored the next nine points, holding the Titans scoreless for over four minutes, capped off by a Higy layup at the 12:46 mark. Britney McGee ignited the run by getting the Great Danes on the board with a foul shot at the 16:35 mark.

After trading baskets in which Detroit Mercy tied the score at 12, UAlbany went on an 11-3 run to jump out to a 23-15 lead with 3:55 remaining in the opening half. Higy bookended the run with a free throw to start the streak and capped it with a jump shot at the 3:55 mark. McGee scored four points in the run and Iromuanya added four of her nine first half points in the stretch. Detroit Mercy scored five of the final eight points of the half to go into the intermission with the Great Danes leading 26-20.

UAlbany (1-9) had three players in double-digits, led by Higy with 12 points. McGee added 11 points and Iromuanya recorded 11 points off the bench. Gia Sanders led UAlbany with eight rebounds, while McGee pulled down seven.

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