UAlbany Goes to Hartford for America East Title Rematch on ESPN3
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HARTFORD, Conn. – The Great Danes travel east to Connecticut for a rematch of last year’s America East title game, taking on Hartford at the Chase Family Arena on Sunday, January 12th at noon on ESPN3.
UAlbany won its first league game at Vermont 94-49 on Thursday to enter this contest on a two-game winning streak, standing at 1-0 in-conference and 11-3 overall. The Great Danes have not lost a conference road game in almost three calendar years, winning all 17 America East games away from SEFCU Arena in that span. Hartford defeated Maine but is coming off a 61-57 road loss at Stony Brook, putting the Hawks at 1-1 in the America East and 4-11 overall.
UAlbany won all three meetings against Hartford last season, including a 61-52 victory in the conference title game at SEFCU Arena. Hartford leads the overall series 20-10, with UAlbany leading the series 5-3 during Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s tenure.
Tickets for the game range from $ 5-23 for the contest and are good for the following Hartford men’s game against Stony Brook.
UAlbany stands at #10 in the College Insider Women’s Mid-Major Top 25, marking the sixth consecutive week that the Great Danes have been ranked in the top 10.
Shereesha Richards has dominated all comers this season, leading the conference in scoring and rebounding. Her 23.5 points a game is over eight points more than second-place Sabre Proctor of Stony Brook (15.1), and she also sports a league-top 10.6 boards a contest and a 65% field goal percentage. In all 14 games played, she has scored double digit points each, including a career-high 41 points this past Thursday against Vermont for the all-time single game record at UAlbany. Sarah Royals has stepped into her new role this season, serving as a point guard and a strong scoring threat. She leads the conference with 5.4 assists per game, with teammate Margarita Rosario being second with 4.3 per contest, and is fifth in scoring with 12.5 points per game. Megan Craig, including a 33-point game against Northeastern, is 11th in the conference at 11.3 points a contest.
Hartford has been one of the stronger programs in the America East lately, winning five conference titles since the 2001-02 season. The Hawks, under 14th-year head coach Jennifer Rizzotti, were predicted to finish second in the America East preseason poll. Ten different Hawks have started at least four games this year. The team’s leading scorer and rebounder is junior forward Cherelle Moore, who get 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds a contest. Junior guard Amber Bepko, a preseason all-America East member, averages 8.6 points a game, adding 19 steals. Running the floor is freshman Deanna Mayza, who has 127 points and 45 assists.
