University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
9-5, 1-1AE
University at Albany
9-6, 2-0AE
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 33 | 32 | 65 |
| UAlbany | 37 | 39 | 76 |
Women's Basketball Clipped by UAlbany, 76-65
1/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Junior guard Elizabeth Belanger (Acton, Mass.) notched a game-high 22 points, but the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team was edged out by the University at Albany, 76-65, Wednesday night at SEFCU Arena.
UAlbany tallies back-to-back America East wins and improves to 9-6 overall and 2-0 in conference play. New Hampshire suffers its first league loss of the season and slips to 9-5, 1-1.
Senior forward Kaylee Kilpatrick (Saint John, New Brunswick) became just the fifth player in program history to reach 100 career blocks, racking up two rejections in the game.
Belanger logged her sixth career 20-point performance on 9 of 17 shooting from the field and registered five rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Ariel Gaston (Toledo, Ohio) posted 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. Freshman center Carlie Pogue (Cincinnati, Ohio) turned in 11 points, four rebounds and a block coming off the bench.
UAlbany featured four players with double-digit scoring figures in the win. Reigning America East Player of the Week Shereesha Richards earned a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. Senior guard Sarah Royals led the Great Danes with 17 points and five helpers. Sophomore guards Zakiya Saunders and Imani Tate notched point totals of 12 and 11, respectively.
The Wildcats shot 23 of 52 (.442) from the field while the Great Danes connected on 29 of 57 (.509) attempts. Both teams were efficient at the free throw line. UNH went 15-for-18 (.833) from the charity stripe while UAlbany converted 14 of 19 (.737) attempts.
The Great Danes won the battle in the paint, outrebounding and outscoring the Wildcats by a 38-24 margin. UAlbany capitalized on fastbreak opportunities, notching 12 points opposed to UNH's four.
UAlbany opened the scoring in the match with back-to-back field goals from Tiana-Jo Carter and Tate. UNH swiftly countered with consecutive layups from Kilpatrick to tie it up at 4-4.
The Great Danes broke the tie to take a 9-6 lead as Royals buried a pair of jumpers. However, Belanger quickly poured in three field goals in the first five minutes to give New Hampshire its first lead of the night at 10-9 with 15:29 left in the opening stanza.
Belanger continued her scoring flurry, notching two more buckets. However, the Great Danes rattled off a 9-2 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from junior guard Erin Coughlin to recapture the lead at 22-16 midway through the first frame.
The Wildcats were able to jumpstart the offense again as Kilpatrick and Pogue registered free throws. Despite that, the Great Danes maintained their two-basket advantage at 24-19 with 8:13 remaining in the first half.
UAlbany padded its lead with an 11-2 spurt, extending the advantage to double figures at 35-24. However, UNH finished the first half strong on a 12-4 surge.
Gaston started the run, banking in a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. After a Richards layup, Belanger rattled in a jumper from the baseline. The junior guard added to the run with a 2-for-2 trip to the free throw line. Saunders netted a basket for the Great Danes, but the Wildcats punctuated the run with a Belanger jumper and a Sarah-Marie Frankenberger (Gross Gerau, Germany) triple. New Hampshire entered the break trailing 37-33.
Gaston opened the scoring for the Wildcats in the second half with a jumper on the fastbreak as the visiting team looked to wrestle the lead away early from the Great Danes. However, UAlbany clung onto its slim advantage as the score rose to 47-45. Pogue managed to tie the game for a fourth time at the 47 mark as she ran the floor to tally the basket in transition with 11:05 left in the second half.
The Great Danes regained the lead as they managed to carve out a 53-49 edge on contributions from Carter, Richards and Saunders. On the next possession, UNH inched within a point as freshman guard Aliza Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.) buried a trey from the left wing at 8:21. Following the New Hampshire triple, UAlbany pulled away again with seven unanswered points to lead 60-52 with 6:32 left on the clock.
The 'Cats tried to chip away at the Great Dane lead in the waning moments of the game. However, UAlbany preserved a minimum two-score advantage for the remainder of regulation and staved off New Hampshire for the 76-65 decision.
New Hampshire is back in action Saturday, Jan. 10 (1 p.m.) as it welcomes the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to Lundholm Gymnasium. For tickets, visit UNHWildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000.
Check out UNHWildcats.com or follow the Wildcats via social media on Facebook (www.facebook.com/UNHWildcats), Twitter (@UNHWildcats), YouTube (www.youtube.com/UNHAthletics) and Instagram (@UNHWildcats) for the latest news and information on all 20 varsity sports. For additional information on the UNH women's basketball team, follow the 'Cats on Twitter (@UNHHoops) and Instagram (@unhwbb).
