BURLINGTON, Vt. — The America East women’s basketball championship game was a matchup between the top two defenses in the league, and it showed.
The University at Albany lost at Vermont 38-36 in the lowest-scoring title game in conference history. Both teams broke the record for fewest points, and it was also the lowest combined score.
The Catamounts (25-6) earned their first title since 2010, while the Great Danes (22-11) fell short in their attempt to repeat as champions.
“We kept pushing, we stayed together more than ever in the second half, which is something we’re really proud of, and we fell short but we have each other and we love each other and this has been an amazing season for us as a team,” UAlbany senior forward Helene Haegerstrand said.
UAlbany trailed by as many as 15 points and was down 12 with just more than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Great Danes, who didn’t make more than two field goals per quarter through the first three quarters, rallied in the game’s final minutes, closing within one point with less than 10 seconds remaining.
“At the end of the day, I told them that this game does not define our season and who we are as a team,” UAlbany coach Colleen Mullen said. “There’s no reason for them to hang their heads at all.”
The comeback attempt started with junior guard Kayla Cooper, who led the Great Danes with 12 points and nine rebounds. She started a 7-0 run with an and-one, then stole the ball in the backcourt and drove for another layup.
“We just really locked in and I think once we got that first steal, we just wanted to capitalize off of it,” Cooper said.
Haegerstrand added to the run with another steal and layup, and redshirt junior guard Morgan Haney capped it with a pull-up jump shot to get UAlbany within 34-31.
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