UAlbany WBB Meets UNH in a Battle for First Place in the America East
Game Notes | Live Stats | Buy Tickets | America East.tv
ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany and New Hampshire will play at SEFCU Arena on Thursday, January 23rd at noon in a battle of the final two America East teams that are undefeated in conference play.
UAlbany will be hosting is annual Commitment to Education Day for the game. Tickets for the game are $ 10 for chairback seats, $ 5 for reserved adult seating and $ 2 for kids and seniors. Faculty and staff may get a ticket free with a ticket purchase, and students enter free with a university ID.
The Great Danes are on a six-game winning streak, including their first five league games, coming into Thursday at 15-3 overall and 5-0 in-conference after a 66-36 road victory over Binghamton on Monday. UNH has also won its last six games, last coming off a 60-45 home win over Vermont, to stand at 10-7 overall and 4-0 in the America East. The winner of this game will stand alone in first place in the conference.
UNH holds a slight edge in the series 14-13, with UAlbany taking the last five games. Last time these two met, UAlbany defeated UNH 71-57 in the America East Tournament Semifinals.
This game features five of the top-14 scorers in the America East and the two top scoring defenses in the league. In the preseason poll, UAlbany received eight first-place votes, while UNH got the ninth, placing fourth in that poll.
Shereesha Richards was selected as the America East Player of the Week for the eighth time this season after earning a pair of double-doubles in America East victories. She leads the conference and is fifth in Division I with 169 field goals, being 10 away from the UAlbany record, currently held by Rainny Lesane, who had 179 field goals in the 1984-85 season. Sarah Royals is averaging 12.9 points a contest to stand fifth in the league after scoring 23 vs. Maine, while Megan Craig is scoring 10.4 points and 1.3 blocks a contest.
UNH stands in second place in the conference at 4-0, leading the America East in scoring defense with just 55.4 points allowed per game and field goal percentage defense at 33.8%. The Wildcats are beginning a three-game road trip on Thursday. The team sports two of the top-10 scorers in the America East, led by redshirt sophomore forward Corinne Coia, who averages 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. Senior Kelsey Hogan, who earned her 1,000th point in UNH’s last game against Vermont, averaging 11.9 points with a 32.4% three-point percentage and an 84.4% free throw percentage.
