University of Albany: Tate’s 22 Points Leads UAlbany WBB to Crush St. Francis Brooklyn 90-47 in WNIT First Round - UAlbany Sports 2014

 

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports

ALBANY, N.Y. – Led by a career-high 22 points from Imani Tate, a graduate of Bishop Loughlin Memorial in Brooklyn, the UAlbany women’s basketball team dominated in-state foe St. Francis Brooklyn 90-47 to earn a home victory in the Preseason WNIT First Round.

With the win, UAlbany (1-0) advances to the WNIT Second Round.  The Great Danes will play Penn State in University Park on Sunday, November 16^th at 2 p.m.

“We played sharp tonight,” said UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “We had too many turnovers in the first half, but we did not have everyone play of lot of minutes, so we should be ready for Penn State.”

Tate shot 9-for-11 from the field to earn a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds.

“Everybody’s emotions were high because it is the first game,” said Tate. “We as sophomores needed to be ready, and we really wanted to play that first game.”

Margarita Rosario was a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc and on the free throw line to earn 16 points.  Zakiya Saunders netted a career-high 13 points off a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, adding six assists.  Jessica Féquière also earned a career-high in points with eight, adding six rebounds.  Shereesha Richards scored 10 points while Sarah Royals had nine points and four assists.

“It is a good start in our first game,” said Rosario. “We made a few mistakes, but we were all excited, and we cannot wait to face Penn State.”

During halftime, UAlbany unveiled the banners from the 2013-14 America East title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

For St. Francis Brooklyn (0-1), Jaymee Veney finished with 18 points and three rebounds.  Sarah Benedetti concluded with eight points and five rebounds.

Facing a St. Francis Brooklyn man-to-man pressure defense, Saunders scored first on the long range jumper.  Later, Saunders got inside and hit the bucket and one.  UAlbany got Richards open on the pass in the paint, with Richards hitting it for the 7-0 run to begin the game.

The sides started trading baskets as Richards hit a few more underneath the basket.  At 16-12, Tate hit one from underneath the backboard and one, one from just inside the arc then another in transition for a personal 7-0 streak.  Erin Coughlin added a three from the corner to push UAlbany up 26-12 with 8:06 remaining in the 1^st.

UAlbany’s defense held as St. Francis looked to play underneath the basket, while the Great Danes found success in transition.  UAlbany did not allow any points in the final 3:14 of the half, with Royals hitting a layup in transition to finish the period as UAlbany led 43-22 at break.

UAlbany kept it going into the second half, beginning the period on a 7-0 run, including another Rosario three.  St. Francis Brooklyn countered by going into Veney for three-straight baskets inside.  Tate stopped the run with a basket, then following another Veney make, UAlbany earned another 7-0 run to go ahead 59-30 with 12:54 left.

The team stayed strong the rest of the way, with many young players seeing time on the court.  Tiana-Jo Carter, who finished with four points and seven rebounds, and Bose Aiyalogbe each scored their first points tonight as UAlbany finished the game with a 24-7 spurt in the final 9:42 of the contest as UAlbany took home the 90-47 victory.