UAlbany Women’s Basketball Starts America East Play at Vermont

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BURLINGTON, Vt. – The two-time defending America East champion UAlbany begins the quest for a three-peat on Thursday, starting conference play at Vermont on Thursday, January 9th at 7 p.m.

The Great Danes, the preseason America East favorite, enter Thursday after a 75-66 victory on the road over Northeastern and will play their first league game after going 10-3 in non-conference play.  Vermont, predicted to finish fifth in the conference, has fallen in its last five games, the last a 61-51 defeat to Brown on Monday, is 4-10 overall and 1-0 in-conference.

Though Vermont leads the all-time series 15-9, UAlbany has gained ground under Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, winning the last seven meetings; the last, a 68-52 win in Burlington on Sunday, February 24th, 2013.

Tickets for the game are $ 10 for reserved seats, $ 8 for adult general admission and $ 6 for general admission for people ages 17 and under.

After a career day of 33 points against Northeastern, Megan Craig earned her first America East Player of the Week honor of the season, her fourth weekly honor in her UAlbany career. Craig, shooting over 57%, is ninth in the conference at 11.8 points a contest.   Shereesha Richards leads the conference with 22.2 points a game, shooting a conference-best 64.3% from the field.  Sarah Royals is averaging 12.5 points a contest to stand sixth in the America East and is first with 5.2 assists per game.  UAlbany is #1 in the America East in numerous scoring categories, including scoring with 69.1 points a game, scoring margin at +7.9 and field goal percentage at 47.4%.

Vermont comes into Thursday tied for first place in the conference after winning its first league game on December 1st, a 95-82 home victory over UMass Lowell.  Head coach Lort Gear McBride enters her fourth year at the helm of Vermont.  The Catamounts are led by junior forward Niki Taylor, who has an America East Player of the Week honor.  She leads the team with 11.4 points a game, adding 6.8 boards a contest.  Two freshman have earned Rookie of the Week honors: 5-8 guard Kylie Butler averages 10.2 points and 7.1 boards a contest, while Kristina White is the main three-point threat at 33.3%, averaging nine points a game.