FINAL SCORE: #3 Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Panthers 57, #7 University of Cincinnati-Clermont Cougars 53

Video Box Score

Team Stats

March 4, 2016

FINAL SCORE: #3 Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Panthers 57, #7 University of Cincinnati-Clermont Cougars 53

RECORDS: Albany College (20-4); UC-Clermont (14-11)

LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Main Arena, Uniontown, PA

IN BRIEF: In a tightly contested semifinal matchup in the Women's Division II game between Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and University of Cincinnati-Clermont, the Panthers went 6 for 9 from the free throw line and added two field goals over the final 4 minutes of action to advance to Saturday's USCAA Women's Division II Championship.    

 

ON THE COURT

  • UC-Clermont jumped out to a commanding 10-0 lead in the first five minutes of game clock, including 6 points by Marie Lawson.
  • Albany returned the favor with a 9-0 run of their own, making it a 10-9 game at the 3:00 mark of the first quarter, including 4 points by Dannie Griffin.
  • The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter, with Clermont taking the lead heading into the second quarter 15-12.
  • Albany scored six straight points to start the second quarter, taking an 18-15 lead at 6:45 with a pair of Morgan Esperti free throws.
  • A pair of Whitney Brand layups put Clermont back on top 19-18 at 5:03.
  • Albany went up 23-19 with 4:00 left in the quarter following an Esperti free throw, and layups by Kristen McKeel and Miranda Costin.
  • A pair of Clermont layups by Arica Stutz and Taylor Martin tied the game at 23 with 2:40 left in the quarter.
  • The teams then traded field goals to go into the halftime break tied at 25.
  • The score was tight throughout the third quarter, including two ties and three lead changes, as neither team was able to stretch a lead out to more than 4 points.
  • Finding themselves down by 4 points at the 5:14 mark, Clermont used consistent full court pressure to score points off turnovers and tie the game at 32 with 4:41 left in the third.
  • After trading baskets yet again, back-to-back layups by Lawson and Brittany Freson gave the Cougars a 38-34 lead that they would take into the fourth quarter.
  • Albany's Griffin tied the game at 41 with 8:01 to go in the contest, which was followed by a pair of Esperti jumpers that gave the Panthers a 45-41 lead with 6:28 left.
  • Clermont used a Finn jumper and Brand layup to bring about another tie, this time at 45-45 with 4:45 remaining.
  • After trading another pair of two-point baskets, Albany jumped out to their biggest lead of the game, 55-48 with 46 seconds remaining in the contest.
  • The Clermont rally in the final seconds would come up short, as Albany won 57-53.
 

 

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

  • Albany's Morgan Esperti led all scorers with 18 points, while also adding 5 steals, 4 boards, and 2 assists.
  • Albany's Dannie Griffin recorded the game's only double-double, tallying 17 points and 13 boards.
  • Esperti and Griffin combined to go 11 for 13 (84.6%) from the charity stripe in the game.
  • The most complete line for Clermont was turned in by Arica Stutz, who recorded 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals on the game. 
  • Clermont reserve Whitney Brand also added 13 points, while Taylor Martin chipped in 10.
  • Albany recorded 15 assists on 21 made baskets for the game.
  • The back-and-forth contest saw 9 ties and 7 lead changes.
 

 

NEXT UP

Albany will face the winner of #1 College of St. Joseph's VT/#5 Penn State Beaver in the USCAA Women's Division II Championship Saturday at 6:00pm in Main Arena.  Cincinnati-Clermont finishes the season with a 14-11 record.