{"id":13659,"date":"2015-03-07T09:48:26","date_gmt":"2015-03-07T09:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wbb-trounces-vermont-on-senior-day-8\/"},"modified":"2015-03-07T09:48:26","modified_gmt":"2015-03-07T09:48:26","slug":"wbb-trounces-vermont-on-senior-day-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wbb-trounces-vermont-on-senior-day-8\/","title":{"rendered":"WBB trounces Vermont on Senior Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-3715\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><em>By Aaron Cheris<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Sports Editor\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>sports.asp@gmail.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">March 3, 2015<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3716\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter c1\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3716\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.albanystudentpress.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/DSC01464.jpg?resize=321%2C375\" alt=\"Imani Tate (12) scored 27 points on Sunday. Photo by Aaron Cheris\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Imani Tate (12) scored 27 points on Sunday. Photo by Aaron Cheris<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> In what might have been their final game at SEFCU Arena, University at Albany women\u2019s basketball seniors Sarah Royals and Margarita Rosario wanted to go out with a bang.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> They did just that, as UAlbany was able to beat Vermont 76-48 on Sunday afternoon to finish the regular season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span> \u201cI\u2019m just like a proud parent,\u201d UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said of her seniors. \u201cThey\u2019re great leaders for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The win did not affect seeding for the upcoming America East Conference tournament. UAlbany (21-8, 14-2 America East) is locked into the two seed. Vermont (5-23, 2-14 America East) is now in the seven seed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cWe want to get back, we want another game [at SEFCU Arena],\u201d Royals said. \u201cYou can\u2019t look past Vermont. Their seeding means absolutely nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> After Vermont freshman Sydney Smith made a three to open the game, UAlbany got rolling. The Great Danes went on a 9-0 run led by four points from Shereesha Richards, her only points of the first half.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Later, UAlbany\u2019s seniors combined to extend their lead. Rosario stole the ball in the defensive end, dribbled the length of the court, and found Royals sprinting to the basket for an open layup. A couple possessions later, Rosario drove to the basket herself and was fouled. She converted both free throws.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cI knew that great things were going to happen,\u201d Rosario said. \u201cIt all just depends on how hard we\u2019re going to work. Winning is not granted, we\u2019ve got to work for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Following a Vermont basket, Imani Tate made a steal for UAlbany, and then fed the ball to Zakiya Saunders. Sanders then threw it back to Tate for an easy basket. On the next UAlbany possession, Saunders made a long two-point jumper as the shot clock expired.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> With about six minutes left in the half, UAlbany was in the bonus and took full advantage as Rosario made a couple free throws. Vermont wouldn\u2019t go away, and they clawed back to only trail 30-22 at halftime. In the first half, UAlbany and Vermont combined for 29 turnovers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cI think everybody was just so excited for Sarah and Margarita,\u201d Abrahamson-Henderson said of the sloppy play in the first half. \u201cThey were a little too hyped up at the beginning of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The second half opened similar to the first, with Smith making a three for Vermont. Also like the first half, UAlbany was quick to respond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Less than a minute after making a couple free throws, Royals made a steal, drove to the basket, but missed a layup. However, she was quick to grab her own rebound and score to extend the Great Danes lead. Royals finished with 11 points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The Catamounts were able to keep the game close for most of the game, but eventually the Great Danes were too much to handle. The UAlbany lead rose to double digits when Imani Tate converted a jumper from the free throw line.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Tate finished with a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds for UAlbany. Richards, last season\u2019s America East Player of the Year, finished with 16 points including 10 made free throws.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cShereesha had three people on her, so that\u2019s what opened up Imani,\u201d Abrahamson-Henderson said. \u201cIt\u2019s better that we have balanced scoring anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The final nail in the Catamounts\u2019 coffin came with about seven minutes left when Rosario made a 3-pointer from the elbow. That was UAlbany\u2019s lone 3-pointer on the afternoon. Rosario finished with seven points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> As the clock wound down, both Rosario and Royals were each taken out of the game to a standing ovation and both returned to hugs and high-fives from teammates and coaches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The America East conference tournament begins next week in Binghamton. For UAlbany, the first round will be a rematch against Vermont on Friday, March 7 at 6 p.m. With the win and Maine\u2019s loss on Sunday, UAlbany finished the regular season as co-champions of the America East.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Despite two big wins over Vermont this season, a third game against the Catamounts is something the Great Danes won\u2019t overlook. Royals summed it up best after the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cIt\u2019s March so anything is possible,\u201d Royals said. \u201cWe embrace that and we\u2019re going to be ready.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/d4ecf__p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif\" border=\"0\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" \/><br \/>\n<a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.albanystudentpress.net\/wbb-trounces-vermont-on-senior-day\/\">The Albany Student Press<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Aaron Cheris Sports Editor\u00a0 sports.asp@gmail.com March 3, 2015 Imani Tate (12) scored 27 points on Sunday. Photo by Aaron Cheris \u00a0\u00a0 In what might have been their final game at SEFCU Arena, University at Albany women\u2019s basketball seniors Sarah Royals and Margarita Rosario wanted to go out with a bang. \u00a0\u00a0 They did just [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[983],"tags":[2543,4061,2357],"class_list":["post-13659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-albany-student-press","tag-senior","tag-trounces","tag-vermont"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13659"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13659\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}